The Apokolips Agenda
by DarkMark
Summary: In the wake of the Crisis, Darkseid makes a new bid for power, and Supergirl and the heroes of five Earths must stop him from finally gaining the Anti-Life Equation and multiversal control.
1. Part 1:  Homecoming

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

by DarkMark 

NOTE: Characters in this story are property of DC Comics, Inc. No money is being made from this story, no infringement is intended. 

* * *

There came a time when the old gods died. The brave died with the cunning. The noble perished, locked in battle with unleashed evil. It was the last day for them. An ancient era was passing in fiery holocaust. 

The final moment came with the fatal release of indescribable power which tore the home of the old gods asunder--split it in great halves--and filled the universe with the blinding death-flash of its destruction. 

In the end, there were two giant molten bodies, spinning slow and barren, clean of all that had gone before, adrift in the fading sounds of cosmic thunder. 

Silence closed upon what had happened...a long, deep silence, wrapped in massive darkness. It was this way for an age. 

Then there was new light. 

--Jack Kirby, THE NEW GODS #1, 1971. 

Part 1: Homecoming 

This happened: 

Aboard a grotesque spaceship that bore the features of its maker, the two greatest foes of Superman had made a gathering. Brainiac had to perform a slight tesseract to get all of them in. Even so, both he and Luthor knew that many still remained on the five Earths they had taken them from. There was only so much capacity. 

The living computer spoke. 

"Our foe, the Anti-Monitor, has fled or has died. Not even I can detect his presence, either in our universe, or in his. My calculations must be true. The Crisis he created is over. But great unsettlement remains. We all crave power, for various reasons. Now is the time to strike. Not even the heroes of the five remaining Earths can withstand our combined power." 

Not all of those who listened to Brainiac nodded, but most knew the truth of that. Super-villains outnumbered super-heroes by a factor no one had yet calculated. If they all struck at once, in coordinated effort, little could be beyond their grasp. Better yet, within their grasp might be the lives of those heroes who had opposed them, defeated them, imprisoned them. 

"Listen now to Luthor of Earth-One," said Brainiac, whose face resembled nothing less than a metallic death's-head. "He shall be our field commander. We have the worlds within our grasp. It is our time, now." 

"Wait one bloody second!", said one attendee, an older man with red hair. "Who appointed that second-rate lab-rat our spokesman?" 

Lex Luthor of Earth-One turned, his warsuit primed for action. He recognized the voice. It was his Earth-Two counterpart, the older Luthor who had fought that Earth's Superman. His Man of Steel was dead now, killed in the Crisis. He had never lost his hair. He had never lost a wife or son. On top of that, he had even worked with the Earth-One Luthor, in a joint effort against the two Supermen. 

The man was a damned ingrate, and Lex was fully in favor of wiping him out with an energy bolt. 

Brainiac's metallic hand was already raised. "The decision for leader is mine," said the robotic being. "But you are correct. We do not need two--" 

That was as far as Brainiac got. 

A blinding bolt of light shot through his chair and body, melting a great hole in his midsection. The lights in his eye-pieces sputtered and died. His upper section toppled over, banging onto his feet and rolling to a stop. His lower torso and feet remained seated. 

Both Luthors gaped. So did most of the people in the room. 

A newcomer had arrived. Many of them recognized him. 

"He was incorrect," said the new arrival. "We did not need him. Now you have me." 

Luthor of Earth-One swallowed. He couldn't force a smile, but he did try to be casual as he said, "Pleasure to have you back." 

The new leader began to address his troops. 

-S- 

Supergirl was already in costume by the time Dev-Em woke up. He saw her through the opened door of the next room, brushing her hair before the mirror. 

"Kara?", he mumbled, using heat-vision to get the sleep out of his eyes and hoping he didn't burn the furniture. 

She turned and smiled at him. Her smile, he thought, had power enough to illuminate the darkness between Earth and Aldebaran. "'Lo, Dev. I'm glad you're up. I was going to have to wake you." 

He was only wearing white shorts and was half-covered by the sheet of the bed in her room at Legion Headquarters. "You're really going back today?" 

Kara Zor-El walked back into the bedchamber. Hairbrush still in one hand, she bent and hugged him. "I have to, Devian. I still live in the 20th Century. Got to get to work. I was on my way there when the Legion summoned me." She felt the firmness of his naked chest against her and was very glad she had become his lover. Her empty hand stroked the contours of his back. His arms were holding her as well, and she bit her lip to keep passion from overruling judgment. 

She could stay with him for a year here, easily. Two years. Longer. But she had a life, otherwhen, and she had to get back to it. 

"Then I guess we'll try to make it on the weekend," said Dev. 

She put the brush down, pulled her head from his shoulder, and took his face between her hands. "I want us to make it through the week, Dev." 

He looked at her tiredly. "Kara. I have a job to get back to, also." 

"I know, Dev. But what if you came back with me? To the 20th? Just for a week?" 

His eyes widened, then he looked away, disgustedly. "No, no, no. Emphatically. Love you. Hate your century. Earth people in the 20th have barely left the caves. I was born in that century, but on Krypton. In this era, Earth's caught up." 

She sighed. "Look, Dev. I'm not asking you to live there. I just want to, well, be with you for another week. Want to show you around." 

"Show me around." 

Kara nodded. "Uh huh. I'd like you to meet Mom and Dad." 

"Oh, capital. 'Good evening, Mr. and Mrs. Zor-El, I'm the man who's boffing your daughter.' 'Good of you, Mr. Em. It's about time somebody did.'" 

She grinned and put her hands around his throat. "I ought to, you know. I really ought to." 

"Actually, you need to improve your grip. I could show you, wouldn't take a minute. The way you're holding me now would be okay against your garden-variety human, but put it on a Krypt or a Daxamite, and before you could squeeze twice he'd be handing you your pretty little blonde head." 

Kara said, "Dev, you idiot. I was talking about my Earth Mom and Dad. Edna and Fred Danvers. I'm too busy to go to Rokyn this week. But I'd like you to meet my real parents, too, when we get a chance. It's just that--" She ran a finger down his nose. "--That before I came up here, Mom and Dad, that is, Fred and Edna, both of them were onto me about meeting a guy. And getting married." 

"Oh." 

"Don't say 'Oh.' I haven't dragged you to the sun-altar yet, have I?" 

"Not yet. Marriage cuts down on good sex." 

"How would you know? You've never been married, either." 

"No, I haven't. But...carry on, Kara." 

Supergirl pushed him down gently on the bed and poked a finger in his chest. "So I want to show them the nice young man who picked me up in the 30th Century. Just be as charming as you are to me, and you'll do just fine." She looked at him with sincerity. "I mean it, Dev. I want you to come home with me. Just for the week." 

He sat up and swung both legs over the side of the bed. "Kara, darling. Listen. Do you think your parents are going to be really enthused about us sharing what I'm about to get out of? Marriage, yes. Parents are overjoyed to hear that their daughters are getting married. But living together? That means you're despoiling their little darling. They come after you with Kryptonite and chains from Daxam." 

"Hey, I despoiled you, too, remember? I wanted to be despoiled." 

"Yeah, and you despoiled very well." 

"You're sweet, Dev." 

"One tries, dear." He put his hand against her cheek to feel the warmth of her. She closed her eyes at his touch. 

"Dev." 

"Umhmm?" 

"If you keep doing this I'm going to have to delay my takeoff by at least thirty minutes. Maybe an hour." 

"Well, we wouldn't want that, would we?" 

"Yes, we would." 

"Bloody damn." 

Afterward, lying beside him, she stroked his hair and said, "You're coming back with me." 

"Will not." 

"Bet you I can convince you." 

"I shudder to ask how, Kara. So...how, Kara?" 

She leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "The showers in these rooms are marvelous, Dev. Really, they are." She kissed his ear. 

By the time they used the heattowels to get the last of the water off, she looked at him and said, "Well?" 

He sighed. "All right, Kara. One week." 

-S- 

It had been a month since the Crisis on Infinite Earths. 

The greatest mystery on several Earths was: where were the super-villains disappearing to? 

The Justice League, Justice Society, Justice Force, Marvel Family, and Freedom Fighters had discovered numerous enemies of theirs simply vanishing from the planet. It did not happen all at once. Some were taken early, others later, and a few were not taken at all. But the maximum security prisons which dealt with hypernormal felons were missing many inmates, and could not say where they had gone. Even videotaped spy-camera feeds showed only that the prisoners were there one second, gone the next. 

It was ominous. The governments and heroes of each Earth were notified, and searches were made. But no one could learn, just yet, where the villains had gone. 

The heroes were on alert, but figured that they would learn all too late. 

-S-   


The trip between times was always bracing, but Kara and Dev both knew how to do it well. They did it holding hands. 

She had oriented them spatially in such a way that, when they finally stilled their time-piercing motion, both materialized within the living room of Linda's apartment in Chicago. They halted their residual motion. Kara still wore her Supergirl outfit, but Dev was dressed in a friction-proofed brown men's suit of a fashion worn in the late 20th Century in America. They'd had Computo work it up on the Legion's clothes synthesizer for him. 

He looked at the room, appraisingly. "This is where you live?" 

"Of course," she said. "How do you like it?" 

He shrugged. "Twentieth Century," was all he said. 

Kara didn't press him. "Look, I've got to go to work. If you want to leave, use super-speed so that nobody will see you. Meet me on the corner by the brown house around noon and we'll do lunch. We'll work out details on how to show you to my neighbors then." 

He adjusted his glasses and swept a bit of hair back in place. "I'll leave, all right," he said. "Only flying could make this backward era bearable. So. I'm Dev Emerson while I'm here, eh?" 

"You got it," she said, smiling. "You're American born, but your dad was a Brit. That's where you picked up the accent, but being from here saves you from answering any embarrasing questions about contemporary Britain." 

He picked up a paperback book from Linda Danvers's coffee table. "Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut," he said aloud. "This is a reading book?" 

"Of course," she said, heading for the bedroom. "You open it. There are pages with words on them. You read them. That's what a book is." 

"Oh, for Rao's sake," said Dev, paging through it. "I know what a book is, Kara. It's just that I usually read from a comp or a cube or something. Are you--" 

He looked up and stopped. 

Kara was dressed as Linda Danvers, with brown hair neatly combed and held in place by a red headband. She had on green pants and a blazer over a white shirt, and wore a silver necklace. Her shoes were black and stylish, but sensible. 

He had never seen her like this before. "Hullo," he said. "Is this your secret identity?" 

"Yup," said Kara, adjusting the shoulder strap of her white purse. "Call me Linda Danvers. Gotta go. Bye." She kissed him on the mouth, and was glad she rarely wore lipstick these days. A fire burst up in her being, but she tamped it down. Work was calling. 

At the door, she hesitated. "Dev," she said. 

"What?" 

"Nobody's sending us a signal, like the Legion does, are they?" 

"No," he said, straining his super-hearing. "Nothing more than a woman, presumably your landlady, operating some sort of noisy contrivance. Seems to be a whirring and snuffling noise." 

"She's vacuuming," said Kara. "No hypersonic signal, huh?" 

"None at all." 

"For a moment there, I don't know. I felt like I did when the Legion was calling me to help out with Satan Girl." She looked thoughtful. "Anyway, we're going to have a wonderful time here, Dev, count on it." 

He smiled. "Some of it may even be out of bed." 

Kara didn't dignify that with a reply. She just went out, closed the door, and greeted the morning as Linda Danvers. She used her telescopic vision to locate the nearest cab heading her way, and waited for him. 

She shivered, a bit. She hadn't told Dev all she had felt, back there. 

She didn't know you could feel darkness. 

-S- 

Despite her feeling of premonition, Linda Danvers got to work at the University of Chicago, did lunch with Dev, finished out her workday, and came back to introduce Dev Emerson, her new boyfriend, to her landlady Mrs. Berkowitz, and to Joan Raymond, Cheryl Delarye, and John Ostrander, her friends who lived in the same apartment building. 

Dev managed to get through it all okay, thankfully. He smiled a lot, charmed them with his faux-Brit accent, and told them he was a "security consultant." When John asked him more about his business, he replied that a lot of it was confidential, but that he'd had to protect a lot of folks carrying important information. That much was true, even though those beings wouldn't exist for another ten centuries. John was suspicious, but willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. 

It was tough for Linda to keep from showing too much physical affection in front of the others. She restricted herself to some hand-holding, a peck on the cheek, and a hug every now and then. But her buildingmates could read the story in her eyes. She could read the story in theirs, too: Joan and Cheryl were glad for her. And so was John, with some reservations. 

Before dinner was over, Mrs. Berkowitz asked Linda into the kitchen to help with the dishes. She went, knowing that soapsuds was probably the last thing on Ida Berkowitz's mind. 

She was right. As Ida went about washing plates and silverware in one sink tub and rinsing them in the other, Linda reached out to help. The old woman held up her hand. "Shah, no." 

Waiting, Linda folded her arms across her chest. 

Still looking at the dishes, Mrs. Berkowitz said, "This man, Mr. Emerson. You are in love with him, no?" 

"I believe I am," said Linda, leaning against the wall. 

"You believe? I see the both of you acting as if you've just been married and want to get in your car with the cans tied on the back and find a hotel, God help us. But you're not married." 

"No," allowed Linda. "We're not, Mrs. Berkowitz." 

"Not such a good thing, Linda." She wiped off a flower-patterned plate and stuck it in a rack. She glanced at Linda. "I can tell this is your first. You've never been in trouble." 

Linda looked indignant. "Mrs. Berkowitz! I..." 

"Nu, you're going to tell me you're protected now, aren't you?" Ida put another dish in the rack. "There's lots of girls that were protected that somehow forget their protection, or maybe it doesn't work right, and boom! Next thing you know, they're in the maternity ward. They find out what birthing a baby is all about. It ain't pleasant, let me tell you." She pointed a spoon lightly at Linda. "They also find out that maybe the loves of their lives don't wanna be in love no more, when the number is three, instead of two. You understand?" 

"Dev is not like that," bristled Linda. "I am not pregnant. And I resent this line of conversation, Mrs. Berkowitz." 

Ida turned to Linda, drying her hands on her apron. "Linda. I been there. I been a married woman, and, God help me, I've never forgotten what it was like with my Hymie. Nor with my...my daughter." 

Linda felt a rush of sympathy for her landlady. Hymie Berkowitz had died in the Holocaust. Her daughter, Rachel, had turned into a super-villainess, Blackstarr. Supergirl had fought her twice, and had no idea where she was at present. The old woman had survived. But sometimes survival wasn't pleasant. 

"I see a nice woman like you. 29 and you ain't never been with a man. Am I right?" 

"That's right," nodded Linda. "Not...before Dev, that is." 

"So you know this man? How?" 

Linda drew a breath. "I know this man very well, Mrs. B. A lot more than you'd believe?" 

"Oh? You do? How, Linda?" She held up her hands again to stop Linda's reply. "Listen to me. Yesterday you go to Mr. Clark Kent's wedding, the nice man whom you met in Metropolis when you was in the orphanage. You were excited, sure, but not like you are today. I even think you were a little sad. Now, today, you're up in the air, your feet don't touch the ground unless they're anchored. You say you met him after the wedding." 

"That's correct," Linda said. 

"In other words, this gentleman sweeps you off your feet just after you see two people get married, and you're maybe thinking that you're never going to go to your own wedding in your lifetime. Also correct?" 

Linda opened her mouth. No words came out. 

Ida Berkowitz looked at Linda with some pity. 

"Listen," she said. "God forbid I should stand in the way of love. If it really is love. If this was thirty years ago, even twenty, I might kick you out of the house. But it ain't like that no more, and I like you too much to do such a thing, Linda. But something there is about that guy, I got to tell you, I don't like." 

"Such as?" 

Ida paused. "Seems to be hiding something. 'Security consultant'? So all right. Maybe he is. Maybe he's got to be Mr. Secret to do his job. You sure this is really what he does?" 

Linda nodded. "Sure as I can be." 

"Like how? You been to his place of business? Could you take me?" 

"No!" burst out Linda. "I mean, yes, I've been there, and no, I couldn't take you. He made an exception for me." 

"And I bet I know why he made that exception, don't I?" Silence for a moment. "Don't I, Linda?" 

Linda was determined not to cry. But she didn't look at Mrs. Berkowitz and one of her hands was clenched in a trembling fist. 

"I can't tell you everything about him, Mrs. Berkowitz," she said in a shaky voice. "But I can tell you this one thing: you're wrong about him. He's a good man. I know. And I know I love him." 

Ida went to Linda and hugged her, putting her younger friend's head against her shoulder. "Linda, Linda. I'm sorry, believe it, for having to put you through this. But, God knows, Linda, the way I talk to you ain't gonna be nothing compared to the way your mother will talk. You understand? To me, you're a friend I wouldn't see hurt. To her, you're her baby." 

"Thank you, Mrs. B," said Linda, fighting for control. "You're such a good friend. I know, to you, Dev's...maybe mysterious. But I know, oh, a lot more than you do about him. And I know we're in love. Can you maybe trust me on that point?" 

"I can hope for you," said Mrs. Berkowitz, breaking the hug enough to look Linda in the eye. "And I can pray for you. Will that do?" 

"Only if you pray for Dev, too." 

"That's gonna take some doing." 

After a second, Linda burst out laughing. Mrs. B smiled, as well. 

"Now you wanna go back again? Okay. But put your hands in the dishwater first. I don't know it's gonna fool anybody, but it's worth a try." 

Linda smiled and obeyed. 

There was a rap on the kitchen door. "Linda?" Dev called. "Everything all right?" 

"Be out in a minute, Dev," said Linda. She dried her hands on a towel and looked at Mrs. Berkowitz one last time. The older lady didn't say anything, but gave her a look of compassion--and caution. Linda turned and opened the door. 

Dev stood there, in his tinted glasses and his three-piece suit. She was almost beginning to get used to him, like that. "You haven't been eavesdropping, have you?" she asked. 

"Me?" He faked a look of astonishment. "Most assuredly not! I only listen in on private conversations when I get paid for it. By the way, that'll be five dollars." 

She grabbed him by the lapels and gave him a mock-exasperated look. "Come on, you." To her landlady, she said, "Don't wait up for us, Mrs. B." 

Mrs. Berkowitz rolled her eyes skyward, briefly. "I don't think I could." 

Linda and Dev walked outside and down the sidewalk, taking in the evening coolness. He put his arm about her waist. She fished in her purse for a disk and handed it to him. 

"What's this?", he asked. 

"An IFF disc," she responded. "Identification Friend or Foe. Us flying types have to wear them in our belts. That way it lets national defense systems know that we're not incoming missles and they don't have to fire at us. Put it in your belt buckle before you do any flying." 

He stuck it in his pants pocket. "Firing on us'd be a waste of a perfectly good missle, anyway. Well, Linda? A sightseeing tour first, or..." 

She put her arm about him and leaned her head against his shoulder. "Or. Definitely or. The sights will be there to see later." 

"Woman after my own heart. Should we go to my hotel? I can't stand the place, personally, but at least it's not under your roof where your landlady would disapprove." 

"Um." She said. "Your hotel room isn't all that soundproof." 

He reflected. "Got a point there. I suppose we might be a bit loud, at times." 

"I know a great place up north," she said, still walking with him, but guiding him towards an alley in the next block. 

"Like where, Lindaish?" 

"Don't use a Krypt suffix with my name when we're like this," she said. "But. I'm thinking. The Fortress." 

He stopped and did a double-take. "You mean...your, ah, your cousin's place? The one we just saw destroyed?" 

She snuggled against him and put both arms around him. "It's still in shape now, and I know Kal isn't there right now. He's still on honeymoon with Lois. I can get us in there okay, Dev." 

"You think we won't be interrupted?" 

"I'll hang a 'Do Not Disturb' sign outside the door." 

He sighed. "Okay. Just remember, love, it was your idea." 

The two of them entered the alleyway. To see the way they left, one would have had to be looking skyward and have the vision powers of the Flash. 

-S- 

In a Holiday Inn near Omaha, Scott Free awoke. 

He sat up in bed, wide-eyed. His wife, Barda, roused herself. "Scott," she said. "What's wrong?" 

"Uh?" He looked at her in the semidarkness. After a second, he began to breathe normally. "Barda." 

"Yes, me," she said. "What's wrong, Scott? Nightmares again?" 

"Not the usual kind," he said. "Not about Granny's orphanage." 

"What about, then? You're not nervous about the show tomorrow, are you?" 

"No," said Scott. "Barda. You know that we managed to keep out of that big Crisis thing, right?" 

She looked at him quizzically, but placed a powerful hand on his bare arm to try and reassure him. "Sure. It didn't touch us directly. Glad it didn't. What's up?" 

"I'm not sure," he said, hesitantly. "I got a feeling that maybe, it's not over. And you know the one we hoped would keep out of the whole thing?" 

Barda nodded, silently. 

"I've got a feeling he's watching us," said Scott. 

To be continued... 


	2. Part 2:  The Gathering Storm

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

by DarkMark 

Part 2: The Gathering Storm 

On a plane of existence different from any Earth, five youth from New Genesis strove to fit into the primitive society of Adon. Or perhaps they strove to make that society fit in with them. It mattered little, in the end. They'd been outcasts on three worlds. They were used to it. 

Their individual names were Mark Moonrider, Serifan, Vykin the Black, Big Bear, and Beautiful Dreamer. They didn't call themselves "Celestials" anymore, and they would never have considered the name of "New Gods". Once, when Orion had asked them how long they expected to stay outside of things the way they did, Serifan had piped up and said, "Forever." So that was how they got their nickname. 

The Forever People. 

They were reluctant warriors, but they fought well when they had to. Years ago, a cadre of Apokolips soldiers had tried to make a surprise strike at New Genesis. Big Bear and Serifan had thwarted them. In revenge, and because he thought her mind contained the Anti-Life Equation, the ruler of Apokolips had kidnapped Beautiful Dreamer and taken her in a Boom Tube to Earth. At that time, they weren't sure what an Anti-Life Equation really was. All they knew was that Dreamer had been taken, and they were darned well going to get her back. 

So the four of them had boarded Big Bear's Super-Cycle and rode it through a Boom Tube of their own making, that energy passageway which acted as a gateway across space or dimensions. They came to Earth, encountered a being of great power named Superman, and teamed up with him to rescue Beautiful Dreamer. Even Superman was daunted by the Gravi-Guards, those Apokolips soldiers who could increase gravity at will and thus negate his great strength. 

At that point, all four of them had laid hands on Vykin's Mother Box, called upon the Infinity Man, and disappeared, leaving their powerful friend to repel the Gravi-Guards and help Superman. In turn, Superman released Beautiful Dreamer from her captivity. Their enemy found that she didn't have the Anti-Life Equation at all. That was a good thing, because he would have used it to control every mind in the universe. 

The Infinity Man had phased out and left them in his place. They wanted Superman to help in their crusade. Apokolips was trying to use Earth as a base against New Genesis now, and they needed every hand they could get. But Superman wanted to go to New Genesis, which they called Supertown, because he felt that was a society he might finally fit into. They opened a Boom Tube for him and left. 

Superman almost made it through, but his conscience wouldn't let him leave Earth undefended. So he returned to his adopted world, gaining but a tantalizing glimpse of New Genesis. He had already been fighting Apokoliptics with the help of Jimmy Olsen, the Newsboy Legion, and the Guardian. He continued to do so. Later on, he did make it to Supertown, more than once. But he decided not to stay there. 

As for the Forever People, they found a place to stay on Earth, and found themselves the targets of more enemies of the New Gods. Glorious Godfrey and his Justifiers, Desaad, Mantis, and all the rest, plus their great commander. For pacifists, they ended up in a lot of battles. 

Then there was one last battle, against an Apokolips hunter named Devilance. His power was so great that they had to ring in the Infinity Man to battle him. In the end, Devilance was destroyed, the Infinity Man was lost to them, and they were teleported to this world of Adon. Here, Boom Tubes did not appear to work. 

So the five of them decided to settle down. There were no more battles. For that, they were grateful. 

Adon was like the concept some Earthians had of Eden, at least on the surface. The people in the land where the five of them had come to were fairly primitive. But they lived close to the land, and that was all right by Mark Moonrider and company. They were regarded as outsiders at first, and were feared and shunned. But when Big Bear showed his strength, and put it to use damming a river, the worldspeople began to change their minds. Mark's "megaton touch", Vykin's use of the Mother Box to heal, and Serifan's cosmic cartridges were found to have their use in the village, as well. They even found a way to enjoy Beautiful Dreamer's illusions. 

So they were still outsiders, but were not shunned. At times, they all wanted to go home to New Genesis. But not even the Mother Box could achieve that. Vykin opined that, if they had to be stuck there the rest of their lives, there were certainly worse places to be than Adon. 

"Like Earth," he added. The others nodded in agreement. 

They had introduced the tribe into more modern building methods and helped them construct houses of wood planks and stone. Indoor plumbing was a concept that the natives were having a bit more problem with, but Mark was certain they'd come around in a couple of generations. While they did not adopt the Adonians' spirit-religion, they did not interfere with it, either. Thus, the local shaman did not see a point in calling down the wrath of the gods on them. The kids were useful, anyway. 

Now, Moonrider walked in through the open door of Big Bear's pad and wondered where his large buddy had betaken himself. He heard a low "ommm"ing sound from the room beyond, and hustled within. 

In the parlor, he found them. 

Big Bear, Vykin, and Dreamer were sitting on the floor, lotus-fashion, their eyes closed and their hands placed upon the Mother Box. 

The Box was about the size of a small TV set and was, in shape, just a box. But within it reposed the fruits of New Genesite computer technology, and the devices, with their incredible AI, seemed so much alive that their bearers thought of them as animate beings. Which, as far as thought went, they pretty well were. 

After a few seconds, Mark said, "What's going on?" 

Big Bear opened his eyes. "Chill, brother. You're breaking the gestalt." 

Moonrider folded his arms across his chest and decided to wait it out. After a few more seconds, the others opened their eyes as well and set the Box on the wooden floor again. 

"You knew it wouldn't work," Mark said, tiredly. "We can't get Infinity Man back. We can't make a Boom Tube. What else is there?" 

Big Bear raised himself up on his huge arms. "If it hadn't been for you and your conflicting vibes, Mark, we might have made it. I could feel it, brother. We'd gone deeper than we ever have before, in this session. I could feel more of the universe, man." 

Dreamer, the beautiful brunette, pulled her legs out of the lotus position and hugged them to her chest. "I...I'm not sure, Bear. I'm not sure that's what I felt." 

"Like, what did you feel?" queried Moonrider, stepping closer to her. He was curious. Anything that could bring them closer to home, as skeptical as he was, wasn't to be scoffed at. 

She ran a hand through her hair. "It was...something cold. Eerie. But very hard, like a basalt slab. Something I haven't felt since we started seancing. Kind of the brim of a bummer." 

Mark and Big Bear considered her words. But Vykin was the next to speak. 

"The seance may have been a mistake," he said. "We have been trying to contact the outside. But we never considered what might be outside, trying to contact us." 

"You mean--him?" asked Dreamer, quietly. 

Vykin did not respond. He didn't have to. 

"I'd better get Serifan," said Moonrider. "By the Source, I hope you're wrong." 

"All those battles we used to have to fight," rumbled Big Bear. "All those dangers. Do we have to go back to that, again? Can't we keep this place out of his grasp?" 

Nobody seemed to have an answer for that. Moonrider went to find Serifan. 

-S- 

Kara and Dev had spent a night of rapture in her private quarters at the Fortress of Solitude. He awoke first and, taking care not to rouse Kara, had dressed in a robe and gone through the passageway to view Superman's home away from home in detail. She had shown him around beforehand, but he was fascinated by the place. 

The first level, off of which Kara's apartment lay, contained two large rooms of communications stuff. Here, he supposed one could reach everyone from a delicatessen in the Bronx up to the Guardians of the Universe. He wondered, idly, how Supes managed to keep transmissions from being traced up here. But these rooms weren't of primary interest to him. 

Dev stepped out of one of the comm rooms and onto the main floor. Now, this was a bit of fascination, he decided. Superman's trophy room. 

The place was big, and as well-organized as the Hadjat Museum in his time. A damaged ship hung in great chains from the ceiling. A robot Tyrannosaurus Rex loomed not far from the entranceway. There was a twisted girder set in a concrete base, an "ant farm" in which something appropriately alien apparently dwelt, deactivated weaponry within cases, uniforms partial or whole, taken from old enemies, a videoscreen that replayed various news segments or recreations of events in Superman's life, and so much, much more. All of it labelled carefully, as in a museum. Some of the labels were only in Kryptonese. 

He turned his head and saw two great figures holding a globe between them, in one hand apiece. His mouth needed moistening. He had known both of those people. 

Jor-El and Lara. And the world they held, above another doorway, was a globe of Krypton. 

Dev couldn't stop himself from entering that room if he'd wanted to. 

Within, there was so much of the world he had grown up in. The great, multi-colored flag of Krypton covered an entire upper wall. There was a recreation in miniature of Kryptonopolis, Superman's and Dev's home town. There was one of Argo City, the domed town that Kara had been born in. There were other statues there of Jor-El, Lara, and even young Kal-El and his dog, Krypto. There was a mockup of Jor-El's lab and Kal-El's room, a diorama of the great Krypton Science Council, written works and holos duplicated from Kandor on Kryptonian history... 

...And, yes, a display of Krypton exploding, and the various crafts and vehicles and even one city which had escaped its destruction, hung around it. 

He heard the light footfalls behind him and turned. Dev was used to watching his back. 

There was Kara, beautiful and barefoot in nothing but a white robe. She smiled. 

"Finding anything interesting?" she asked. 

Dev shook his head in wonder. "I could spend all day in this one room," he said. "I've seen Old Krypton museums on Rokyn, but this is so fresh. So close to the, well, to the Destruction." 

"I understand," she said, stepping closer and stroking his upper arm. "Maybe not as much as you. You were born there. I was born in Argo, after it went into space. But I've heard so many stories about it from my folks, and from Kal and the Kandorites. It'll never really die." 

"Certainly hope not," he said, seriously. Then he chuckled. 

She asked, "What's funny about this?" 

"What's funny? He didn't put in a model of the alien shelter my parents and I escaped in." 

"Oh," she said. "Well, maybe if I point it out to him..." 

"No, don't bother." Dev surveyed the room with his eyes. "To think, Kara. All this was created by a kid I used to get in trouble, when I was a teenaged delinquent." 

She was behind him, with both hands and her head on his shoulders. "I've got to go back, Dev. It'll be work time within the hour." 

He leaned back against her. "Secretary and graduate student. Some job. Why don't you try for something real?" 

"I have," she said. "I worked for a TV news crew in Frisco. I was a counsellor in another college. Then I was a TV actress. I'll try something else, but for now, this is what I do." She stepped in front of him. "Tonight, after work, I want to take you to meet the folks." 

"Your Earth parents?" 

She nodded. "Fred and Edna. You'll love them, especially her cooking. And I want them to love you." 

"I'll settle for them just not throwing me out of their house." 

"If they do, I'll throw myself out, too." 

"Promise?" 

"You bet." 

-S- 

And so it was that, after a call to Midvale and a day of work, Kara (as Linda Danvers) and Dev flew in at a speed that rendered them invisible and went to call upon her adoptive parents. As they walked up the porch steps, Linda noticed something. "You're nervous," she said. 

"Oh, yes," muttered Dev, both hands in his pockets. 

"Let me introduce you," she said, knocking on the door. "I'll do the talking at first." 

Fred Danvers opened the door. He was balding, fiftyish, in a blue shirt, dark blue pants, and slippers, and carried a pipe which alluded to a habit neither his wife or daughter had been able to break him of. He looked at both of them with curiosity. 

"Daddy!" Linda threw herself into his arms and hugged him. Dev had to smile. 

"It's Linda and her boyfriend, dear," called Fred. "Come on outta the kitchen." He freed up a hand and extended it towards Dev. "And your name was--" 

"Dev," said Dev, and shook Fred's hand firmly. To his credit, Fred's smile at him looked unforced. 

"C'mon inside," he said. "There's a lot to talk about." 

"I'm sure there is," Dev said, evenly. 

Edna had appraised Dev in much the same manner as Fred, accepting but cautious. They both noted that Linda was a lot happier than when they had last seen her, and were grateful for such. The dinner, roast beef, potatoes, and the usual suspects, was creditable. 

Dev was also glad that, around them, he didn't have to pretend to be an Earthman. They knew who Kara was, and who he was. Sheol, they even knew who Clark Kent was. 

"We'd met before, of course," Dev told them at the dinner table. "But we'd never really worked together that closely. I knew she was, well, a Lorra--" 

"Oh, stop it!" She slapped him on the thigh. "Lorra was an old Kryptonian love-goddess. Kind of like Venus here. Go on, Dev, but please." 

He laughed. "Hey, if she's offended by being compared to a beauty goddess, what can I say?" 

"I wouldn't be," sniffed Edna. "It's just that Fred doesn't do it very often." 

"You're a Lorra, dear," Fred said. "That make you feel better, now?" 

"Well, anyway, we'd never really shared an assignment," said Dev. "I'd even been going with somebody else. But they wanted three Krypts for the assignment, and one of the available ones was me, and another one was Kara, here. And what can I say? We got to know each other, she slapped me in the face--" 

"What over?" asked Edna. 

"An argument, Mom," said Linda. "He didn't slap me back, don't worry." 

"Then, by about midway through the thing, I realized that she was somebody I really..." Dev hesitated. "I mean, really. It wasn't just that she was one of my kind, you know, a Krypt...she was...just somebody I could really care about. I don't know any other way to put it." 

Linda said, "It was kind of the way I felt, too. If you'd told me a year ago I was going to end up with Dev, I would've laughed in your face. But there he was, a guy who, like he pointed out, was one of my kind. Somebody I don't have to keep out of one side or the other of my life. Somebody who was as powerful as I am, who's leading an interesting life, and who's..." 

She caught herself. She was about to say, "really good in bed," and, from the looks her parents were giving her, she knew that they knew, too. 

"...who's really someone I could share my life with," she said. "I think." 

"Well, that's hopeful," said Dev, with a bit of sarcasm. 

"That's good," allowed Fred. "So soon after I'd warned Linda about not being serious with anyone. I guess this was her revenge." 

"Maybe, Daddy," said Linda. "But it doesn't feel like revenge to me." She lay a hand on Dev's shoulder, and he snuck his fingers through her hair. 

"So," said Fred. "When are you planning on getting married?" 

Linda dropped her fork. 

Fred and Edna watched for their reactions. Dev kept himself contained, but Linda was openly disturbed. She felt she shouldn't have been, what with Mrs. Berkowitz having warned her. But she was, nonetheless. 

"Actually, we haven't, yet," admitted Dev. His hand was on Linda's shoulder, near her neck. "Neither of us has. Not yet." 

"Oh," said Edna. 

"It's pretty early for us to start talking marriage," said Linda. "We haven't been in love that long." 

"Yes," said Fred. "It is pretty early, isn't it?" 

Dev stood up. "Think I'd better go. Kara has a hard day of work ahead, and I wouldn't want to keep you all up. Thanks very much for the dinner, Mrs. Danvers. I enjoyed it, really." 

"Dev," said Kara. "Sit down." 

Quietly, he said, "I don't think they want me to." 

"Dev, please sit down," said Fred, placatingly. "I didn't mean to...well...I'm sorry." 

Linda gave him an angry look. Edna said nothing. 

Dev was still standing. 

"If you're worried about something, let me spell it out for you," said Dev. "Yes. Kara and I are having a relationship. We are sleeping together." 

"Oh, my," said Edna, involuntarily. Linda sat, paralyzed. 

"She isn't pregnant, and I don't intend to get her that way," continued Dev. "I helped save her life. She helped save all of ours. After that, we made love. And I don't see there was anything wrong with it." 

Silence. 

"I realize that maybe I'm not the kind of guy you'd prefer she went with," Dev said. "But I guess love doesn't always perform the way we'd like it to. Maybe we'll get married, somewhere down the line. Maybe we won't. I'm going to live in my century, and, until and unless I persuade Kara to, she's going to live in hers. We'll see each other when we can. That is, if she still wants to." 

Linda was silent, but gave him a meaningful look. 

Fred was kneading his brow with one hand. "Look. Dev. It's never easy for a parent to hear these things." 

"Daddy, I'm 29 years old," said Linda. "I'm a fully adult human being. In all respects. I need love, just like any other woman needs love. Like you needed it, Mom. It just so happens that I found it." 

"Of course you did, Linda," said Edna, rising from her seat and coming to stand by her foster daughter. "But if you have, what have you got against marriage? Isn't that what people do, when they're in love?" 

"A lot of them," replied Linda. "But a lot don't." 

Fred had to say it. "Sometimes," he said, "when they don't, they regret it." 

Dev turned. He walked out of the dining room, towards the front door. Linda called his name. 

"Don't follow me," he said. 

She looked at her parents in dismay and exasperation. 

"Follow him, dear," said Edna. "But wait a few minutes." 

-S- 

Clark Kent and Lois Lane were officially honeymooning in Tahiti. His salary as a network news anchorman more than covered the expense. But they often took side-trips, courtesy of his super-speed and flight power, and did a lot of sightseeing, often in disguise. They did other things without any disguises at all, and wondered why they had taken so long to do them. 

Right now, they were the only two inhabitants of an isle that Gilligan would have killed to be stranded on. The moon was out, putting his and Lois's half-clad bodies in silver relief as they lay upon the beach. He was contemplating super-feats that had nothing to do with jumping buildings in a single bound. 

Then he straightened up, a look of concern on his face. Lois looked at him. "What's up, honey?" 

He pointed. "Look. Up in the sky." 

Two silhouettes, barely the size of peas, were visible against the moon. But they were getting bigger every second. Lois grabbed the beach towel and wrapped it around herself. If Lex Luthor was crashing their honeymoon, she'd kill him herself. Bare-handed. 

Clark had already used his telescopic vision to discern who the approaching parties were. In an instant, he opened the belt buckle of his swimming trunks, decompressed his costume, and put it on. 

Superman stood waiting to greet Supergirl and Dev-Em. 

"Oh, it's Supergirl," said Lois, after the newcomers landed. "Hi. Who's this guy?" 

"Kara, Dev, hello," said Superman. "Since he's here, I assume this has something to do with the Legion." 

"Dev, let me explain," said Kara, trying to place herself between her cousin and Dev. 

"Explain?" queried Lois, stepping closer on bare feet. "Explain what?" 

The Man of Steel looked curiously at the other two Kryptonians. "I'll have to echo Lois, there. We are on our honeymoon. Nobody's supposed to be in contact with us, here." 

"It took a lot of looking and listening," admitted Dev. "But we've been putting this off too long. We need to tell you." 

Supergirl put her hand over Dev's mouth. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand away. "Dev, please," she pleaded. "It'll be easier if he hears it from me." 

"Hears what?" asked Superman. 

Lois, a tad nervously, said, "I think I know what, dear." 

In the space of three breaths, Kal-El processed the information, without being told. "You," he said to Dev, striding up to him. 

"Kal, please," Kara said, trying to hold him back. He shoved her aside. 

"Take it easy, El," said Dev, holding out a hand. "We're in love. Ask her." 

"You," he repeated, heading forward. Dev wasn't retreating. 

Super-memory can be a curse, sometimes. Right now, it replayed all the various criminal things Dev had done on Krypton that Kal knew of, some from personal experience. It called up the times when he'd tried to pin the blame on a two- or three-year-old Kal-El. It rehashed the episode in which Dev had masqueraded as Superboy, blackened the young hero's reputation, and sped off to the future, sure that the Boy of Steel would no longer be able to operate. Only a hoax cooked up by Chief Parker had put Superboy back in Smallville's good graces. 

Of course, there were the times that Superboy had worked with a reformed Dev-Em in the Legion. But somehow, they were shunted to the background, now. All he saw was the boy with the cruel sneer. The boy who had taken the one living woman of his kind whom he loved more than any other, and violated her. The boy who would mix his blood with that of the El line... 

One part of his mind was trying to override the rest, to exercise the great super-control over his body that was always necessary. 

He didn't listen to it. 

Superman surged forward and smashed into Dev's middle, headfirst, in a tackle. The two of them didn't hit the water until they were half a mile from shore. 

Lois yelled, "Stop them!" to Kara's back. The Girl of Steel was already in flight. 

She plunged below the water's surface, using her infra-vision and hearing powers to find the two of them. There they were, near the ocean floor, scaring off the fish life for a five-mile radius. 

Kal was landing a few punches, and Dev really felt them; Superman was no lightweight. But mostly Dev fought defensively, finally grabbing both of Kal's wrists and striving to hold his arms back. Superman's eyes heated, ready to blast him with heat-vision. 

Through the distortion of the water, Kara hollered, "STOP!" 

Dev had time to say, "Good advice, mate," before the blonde girl barged between them and shoved them apart. She floated there, and gave them both a no-nonsense look. "If you want to fight each other again, you're going to have to fight me, too," she said. "Both of you." 

Superman swam closer to her, closing the distance with a single stroke. "What have you got to say for yourself?" he asked. 

"We're in love," she said. "That's all I have to say for myself, Kal." 

Dev was beside Kara now, his hand protectively about her. "We didn't plan on this happening, El," he said. "It just did. Yes, we are in love. Now are you going to act like a man about it, or are you going to start brawling like some teenaged kid again?" 

"I remember when you were a teenager," snapped Superman. "Oh, I remember that very well." 

"I'm sure you do," said Dev, just as intensely. "The difference between us is, I learned something since then." 

"Both of you, shut up!" screamed Kara. "Kal, listen. We planned to tell you later in the week. But Dev just, well..." 

"When were you going to tell me?" asked Superman. "At Bruce Wayne's wedding? That's this weekend, you know?" 

"Well," said Kara, "I hoped it'd be before then..." 

"I figured you might act this way, El," said Dev. "That's why I wanted to get it over with. I had a bad session tonight with her parents, so I figured I'd give you a crack at me, and we could finish things up. Have we?" 

"I don't know," said Superman. "Kara, are you aware of what this man has done, in the past? Not what he is, but what he's done?" 

"I am," she said. "And it doesn't matter a bit to me. I'd just hoped for a little more understanding from you, Kal, is all. I'm sorry that I didn't get it. But I'm even sorrier for you." 

Superman was silent. Then he said, "Is this on the level? Are you both really in love? Tell me." 

"I'd say so, yes," said Dev. 

"Yes, we are, Kal," said Kara. 

He was listening to their heartbeats. No signs of lying, even though Dev, like all Krypts under a yellow sun, could control his pulse rate if he wanted. Perhaps they were in love. 

But even so...to think of Kara Zor-El becoming Kara Dev-Em...of her bearing that name. 

"This will take some getting used to," he admitted. "You'd better really, really be in love." 

Kara sighed out bubbles. "What do you want me to tell you, Kal? Yes, we've made love. No, and this is about the third time we've had to confirm this, there isn't a baby on the way." 

"You're not married," said Superman. "If this gets out..." 

"We're not exactly posting public holo-notices," said Dev. "I live in the 30th, she lives in the 20th, we're going to see each other when we can. I was going to spend the week with her. I think I may have overstayed my welcome." 

"No," said Kara. "But I may have overstayed mine. Goodbye, Kal." She turned and headed for the surface. 

Superman's head broke water behind her. "Kara! We can discuss this!" 

"Give Bruce and Selina my best regards," yelled Supergirl, as she sped into the sky. "Because I won't be there!" 

Dev looked at her, and then back at Superman. His face bore a slight bruise where Kal had bashed him on the cheek. "So long, El. Sorry it had to be this way." Then he, too, leaped from the water and sped after her. 

Shortly after, Lois Lane Kent saw her husband wade ashore, costume dripping brine. Luckily, he didn't look hurt. "What happened? What's going on?" she asked, wading into the surf to meet him. 

"I wish I knew, Lois," said Superman. "I honestly before Rao wish I knew." 

-S- 

Outside a cabin in a Louisiana swamp, a white-haired woman in T-shirt and cutoffs waited for her husband's nightly manifestation. 

On schedule, a mass of Spanish moss reshaped itself into something not unlike a man, though not enough like one to pass without considerable disguising. Abby Cable smiled. "Hi," she said. "Learn anything?" 

The Swamp Thing regarded her. "Jason Woodrue...the Floronic Man...is gone...from Arkham," he said. "The Green...does not know...where he is." 

She shivered. When they had first met, Woodrue had tried to use a chainsaw on her. Only the being standing before her had averted that. "Just as long as he isn't here," she said. 

"There is more," the Swamp Thing confirmed, in his laborious words. 

She waited. 

"The Dark...has abated," he said. "But...a smaller darkness...is manifesting. Not from here...but from outside." 

Hesitantly, she said, "So...what do we do?" 

"We wait," he replied. "We wait." 

To be continued...   
  



	3. Part 3:  Sign From the Source

The Apokolips Agenda 

by DarkMark 

Part 3: Sign From the Source 

The day after her encounter with Kal, Linda had gone to work in a much lousier mood. Joan Raymond noticed it and cornered her by the water cooler. 

"What's wrong?" she asked, in a low tone. "He dumped you, right?" 

Linda snapped, "No. We're still together. It's just...my parents." 

"Oh. Okay," said Joan, nodding in comprehension. "They don't approve of you two being an item." 

"Not really," said Linda, and she knocked back a paper cup of water and crumpled the cup. "They don't out-and-out condemn us. But they don't...don't like the idea that we're involved." 

Joan spread her hands. "Hey, Linda. They're an older generation. Even if you're almost 30, they still see you as their little girl. Folks didn't live together like that as often in their day." 

"Oh, I know that, Joan," said Linda, aggravatedly. "I'm not stupid. But still...when it happens to you..." 

"It takes time for parents to get used to these kind of things, honey," Joan said, touching Linda's shoulder. "But they do, if they think they have to. And let's face it. Most people that live together, end up getting married. That's something your parents can really look forward to." 

"That'd be the only thing that'd pull us out of this, in their eyes," Linda admitted. "But we just don't want to. It's a...bicoastal relationship." 

Joan shrugged. "Then it's up to you. It may run its course, like any other affair. I mean, if one of you has to hop a plane every time you want to get involved, that can take its toll." 

"We're going to see each other on the weekends," said Linda. "But...you may have a point." She looked at her friend. "Thanks, Joan. I'm glad you understand, at least." 

"Hey, I'll bet I don't," said Joan. "But when you need somebody to listen, feel free." 

"I'll keep it in mind," said Linda. "Thanks." 

But, she told herself as she made her way back to her desk, there's no way I can tell you that my lover just had a big fight last night with Superman. 

-S- 

Later that morning, Linda got a call from her mother, inviting her and Dev back to their house for dinner and a meeting, as she put it. She said they'd try to make it, and left a message for Dev at his hotel. He had already said they wouldn't be doing lunch together. 

But at ten minutes till noon, she noticed a stir in the outer office and looked up to see what was going on. 

A face familiar to all the others from many WGBS news broadcasts had descended to their office, and it seemed as though all of them had found a piece of paper for him to sign. 

"Hi, Linda," said Clark Kent, entering the room. 

"Hi, Clark," she said, evenly. 

Joan looked at both of them. "You really know each other?" 

"We met when he was working for the Planet," said Linda. "What can I do for you, Mr. Kent?" 

"I was thinking we could do lunch," said Clark. "I've got some things I'd like to talk to you about." 

"I'm sure you do," said Linda. "I am very sure that you do." 

-S- 

Both of them found Dev in Red Square at Moscow, getting stared at by KGB guys while he let out breaths of smoky vapor and looked at the Kremlin towers. Superman and Supergirl were in uniform, and they landed near him. Dev looked at them, unperturbed and neutral. 

"Bojemoi!" offered one Moscow cop. 

"It's all right, he's with us,>" said Superman, in perfect Russian. In Kryptonese, he said, "Ready to talk, Dev?>" 

"Haven't got much time left, El,>" said Dev, in the same language. "Kara and I are going to her parents' house pretty soon. You want one last chance, too?>" 

"I do,>" Superman confirmed. 

"He came to me, Dev. I didn't go to him,>" Kara added. 

Inspector Rostinkov had been called in to check out the stranger who had appeared with little notice and, probably, without papers, near the Kremlin. Now, his eyes wide, he gathered his courage and stepped towards the threesome, hand outstretched for a shake. "Welcome, Comrade Superman!>", he began. "Let me greet you on behalf of the Moscow police department, and in absentia on behalf of Comrade Gorbachev, and may I request an autograph for myself, and one for my wife and son--one will do for them both-->" 

Superman smiled at him and stopped him with a hand to his shoulder. "Some other time, friend,>" he said. Then he and Kara took Dev with a hand under each arm and soared with him into the sky. 

"Why are you doing it this way?" asked Dev, looking at Kara on his right. 

"Because it's not such a good thing for people to know you can fly," said Supergirl. When they were out of sight of the civilians, they did release Dev and let him fly between them. 

On the ground, Rostinkov addressed his men. "Who was responsible for not nabbing a man who was so obviously a dangerous criminal? Who? Or should I recommend the whole lot of you for duty in Siberia?>" 

The KGB guys weren't worried, since he had no authority over them. But one of the cops on the scene protested, "Inspector, how were we to know he was a criminal?>" 

Patiently, yet angrily, Rostinkov grabbed his underling by the collar. "What else could cause Comrades Superman and Supergirl to come to Moscow? A dangerous criminal! Nothing less, nothing more! You want to keep your job, Pyotr?>" 

"Oh, yes, Comrade Inspector! Oh, yes!>" 

"Then next time, learn how to recognize a dangerous criminal before Superman and Supergirl get here!>" 

-S- 

That evening, the Danverses had three guests for dinner. If secrecy hadn't been so important, Clark would have treated them all to a meal in town. But he didn't mind Edna Danvers's chicken teriyaki a bit. Fred and Edna peppered him with questions about his marriage and he said, "So far there's one thing we can both agree on. That's when Lois tells me what a dunderhead I've been for making us wait this long. Now I know why the older Clark, the one from Earth-Two, told me to go ahead and do it. I didn't have the guts to, then. Wish I had." 

Linda smiled. She didn't want to stay mad at him, even though she still felt the hurt of the past day's events. 

Dev waited, then said, "Well. Since I'm obviously what you Earthers refer to as a 'bone of contention', I suppose I ought to let you have your say about me. I warn you, though, Fred, if you hit like Kal here, I'm out the front door before you throw it." 

Fred Danvers laughed. "No, Dev. I won't say that I like the situation you and Linda are in. But--" He looked at Linda as she said it, and noted her hand on top of Dev's. "--I will accept it. For now. She is of age, she does have her own life to lead, and she does seem to--enjoy being with you. I have to admit, you're not exactly my kind of guy. But maybe I can learn to live with it." 

Dev smiled, a bit. Linda's smile was much more generous. 

Edna said, "I can't say I totally accept it. But you do seem to be good for each other. And Lord knows, a woman can't stay out of love forever. All I ask is, no children until you're married. And, Linda, don't have--" 

"I wouldn't think of it, Mom," she said. "I'm not going to get pregnant. But if I do...I'll have the baby." 

Clark looked pained. Dev seemed at ease. 

"Dev, I'd like to apologize for my reaction yesterday," he said. "My loss of control was unforgiveable." 

"Oh, El, don't be stupid," said Dev. "I came down in the middle of your honeymoon, tell you I'm involved with your cousin, and you don't think I know you're going to get mad? Sure, you were." Clark started to say something, but Dev linked his fingers, Krypton-style. It meant, roughly: Shut up. 

"But I knew you from back when you were, well, a toddler, then Superboy. I knew you wouldn't be fighting to kill, not even in your state. After that session with Fred and Edna here, I wanted to get things over with, see where the pieces fell. If I had to take a few lumps to do so...that's in the game." 

"It shouldn't have been," said Linda. "But maybe you're right, Dev." 

Clark said, "Before this last week, I might not have understood your behavior, Kara. But now that I've found what marital love is really like, with Lois...well...I guess I can understand, a little. So if you're feeling something with him akin to what I feel with her, I can't stand in your way." 

"Thank you, Kal," she said, sincerely. Not that I would have let you, anyway, she added mentally. 

"As for you, Dev," said Clark, "I plead guilty to not remembering enough how you were with the Legion, and to remembering too much the way you were back on Krypton. I'm not ashamed of feeling protective towards Kara. I always will. But I am ashamed of suspending my better judgment. Especially after learning something of the case you two worked on." 

Linda nodded. They couldn't tell Kal everything about the Mordru affair, particularly not the five future Supermen. But they did tell him that Dev had helped save Rokyn, and that he had helped save her life afterwards. 

"So," said Clark. "Friends again?" He held out his hand. 

"Friends," agreed Dev, and shook it. He had to admit, he still wasn't as comfortable with Kal as he was with Kara. But, at the moment, it didn't seem to matter. 

"Now, I've got a wife waiting for me in Tahiti," said Clark, standing up. "And Kara, you're still invited to Bruce's wedding. I could maybe wangle an invitation for Dev, too, if he wanted to come." 

Linda shook her head. "Sorry, Kal. Make my apologies to Bruce and Selina, but what I said before goes. I'm spending the rest of the week with Dev." 

"All right," said Clark, a bit disappointedly. "Anyway, I'll see you around. Soon, I hope." 

They said their goodnights to him, and he left. He was halfway to Tahiti by the time his image faded from their sight. 

Dev turned to the Danverses. "I think we need to be shoving off, too." 

Fred and Edna were glad, as they still weren't hot on the idea of Kara and Dev sharing a bed in their house. "Best of luck, both of you," said Fred. "And, Linda, don't stay away too long. You either, Dev." 

The two Kryptonians left and soared into the night sky at hyperspeed. 

"Your Fortress or mine?" asked Dev. 

"I'd rather try a place that's sunnier and warm right now," Kara answered, already peeled down to her Supergirl suit. "How's about the Australian outback? I can find us a private place." 

"At least my accent won't be so out of place there." 

-S- 

At the end of that week, Kara and Dev parted, but saw each other on three more weekends, through the benefit of time-travel. 

Bruce Wayne had married Selina Kyle, then had to team with his Outsiders to battle Kobra with his wife's life at stake. Power Girl had aided the Justice Society and Infinity, Inc. against Mars, Badra, and three villains from Krypton. Other heroes on other Earths had done other things. 

The villains weren't idle, either. 

The rest of the month passed. 

-S- 

Three persons, all from Earths other than the one in which they now lived, were staying temporarily in the Justice League Satellite. The orbiting headquarters had been rebuilt and strengthened after being torn asunder in the Crisis. Its four new guests needed a place to stay, so the League obliged them, provided they helped with monitor duty. 

Two of their number were female, two were male, and all had been intimately involved with the Crisis. 

The first of their number was a young blonde woman who was dressed in a long-hemmed violet dress. There were two computers before her. The one she was staring at held gigabytes of data on the Justice League members and their cases, both as a team and as individuals. She was running through it with almost inhuman speed. Attached to her forehead was a flat metal lead connected by a wire of metal alloy never created on any Earth, terminating in a pouch at the side of her belt. Her computer was no larger than an Oreo cookie, but it held many times the capacity of the JLA's machine. 

Lyla was feeding information into her computer directly from her mind. 

There was no telling how old Lyla really was, in terms of Terran years. She had been rescued from a shipwreck long ago, in an era in which ships were still powered by coal. Her rescuer was a large, powerful, but fatherly being. When she was deposited, safe but cold and dripping, in the confines of a satellite, she gathered courage to ask his name. 

"Call me the Monitor," he had said. 

That was relieving. She was glad to know he wasn't God. 

When the Monitor explained that they were in a satellite far out in space, between the Earth and Moon, she thought certainly she must be unconscious and dreaming of a Jules Verne fantasy. But no, the dream lasted too long to be a dream. Also, every sense she possessed was reacting to this environment. She could taste the hot liquid he gave her to cure her chills, feel the strange metal and leather-like substances that composed the surfaces of his odd furniture, smell the alien scents in the Monitor's home, hear his voice and the many strange mechanical sounds (and some that, she knew, were not mechanical at all) within it, and what she saw... 

Well, she knew she had never seen something quite so grand or quite so uncanny. If this was only a dream, she was going to have to give her imagination double credit. 

The Monitor had told her he had need of her. This was flattering, because she never knew anyone needed her at all, except maybe her mother, and her mother was now dead with the rest of the people on board. That thought made her very sad, and she cried. As best he could, the Monitor comforted the little girl. Then he tried to explain to her who he was and what he had been doing. 

He had been alive for so long he couldn't number the years, even calculating them in terms of how long it took her planet Earth to circle the sun. He was, he said, locked in battle with a being who was his evil self--a dark Doppleganger whom he had been fighting for ages. Now he found himself in need of allies. 

"Well, whatever for do you need me, sir?" she had asked, rather timorously. 

The Monitor had placed his great hands, larger than any man's she had ever seen and stronger than a dozen blacksmiths', on both her shoulders, gently. Then he locked eyes with her and said, "To be my messenger. To be my Harbinger." 

She wasn't sure quite what that was. But she was without a mother now, and he told her she could not go back to her father, who had been waiting to meet them in New York, because by the time they went there he would be dead and gone. The Monitor called it a "time differential." Lyla didn't understand what that was, but she cried even more when she thought of not seeing him again, either. 

The Monitor took her in his two great hands and held her to him, letting her cry. She thought that was very nice of him. 

Then he took her over to a machine, put a metal bowl-thing over her head, and said, "Think about your parents." She thought about them as hard as she could. The machine didn't seem to make any sound. But he pointed to a glass screen on the machine's surface, and said, "Does that look enough like them?" 

And it was, indeed, a picture of her mother and father, taken from her mind. She looked at it, then at the Monitor. "How did you do that? Is this a photographing machine?" 

"In a way," he said, and gestured towards part of the device. A slot in the front of it spit out a piece of paper. On its surface was the images of her parents. She took it, wonderingly. Then she looked at him again. 

Because she was a polite girl, she said, "Thank you." Then, because she is hungry, she said, "What time do we eat?" 

The Monitor took her to a part of his ship which served as a larder, sat her at a black table, left the room for a moment, and came back with some stuff that didn't look much like food she was used to. But Lyla ate it, and enjoyed it. She thanked him for dinner, and asked how long she would stay with him. 

"A long, long time," said the Monitor. 

He spoke truly. 

The years passed, and Lyla grew into a beautiful young woman. She traveled in the Monitor's satellite ship with him to many dimensions and many worlds, and was astonished to learn that not only was there more than one Earth, but a seemingly infinite number of Earths. Sometimes he transported her, by a means she didn't quite understand then, to the surface of a planet (ofttimes an Earth, but many worlds she knew as alien), disguising her in appropriate garb. He accompanied her, in disguise himself, many times in the early years. The Monitor was her guide on these trips, until he was assured that she could handle herself in a new environiment. These journeys allowed her to be free of the satellite's confines, to gain the human or almost-human contact she needed (her host was nice, but she still longed for the company of other people), to expand her mental horizon and experience, and to educate her first-hand in many wonders of the universe. 

Other education was given to her by means of teaching devices, or by the Monitor himself. Lyla was astonished at what she could comprehend when he imparted it to her by such means. Her grade school career had been interrupted, but she didn't miss it a bit. 

Sometimes he left the satellite, without her. The first time he returned, he told her he had had an altercation with his enemy. She pressed the Monitor for details. He only said, "Another one gone." She could not get him to explain more fully. Each time when he came back from future battles, he would only say, "Another one gone," or "Another one saved," as if he was contending for souls. 

But she did not think he did that. 

Then, one day, when she was at the age of sixteen, physically, though time was hard to measure in their home, the Monitor summoned Lyla to his throne. He called it a "control chair", but she could think of it as nothing less than his king's seat. 

"Remember, long ago, when I told you you would become my Harbinger?", he asked. 

Lyla, in her long purple dress, nodded. "I remember it quite distinctly, sir." She drew in a deep breath, and waited. 

"The Enemy presses me hard," he continued. Even though he had lived for countless eons, Lyla felt that, somehow, he looked older than when she had met him. "I will require assistance to salvage what I can. To you, Lyla, I can give powers unlike any woman in history, even those special beings we have been studying of late." (By this, she felt he meant the strange mystery men of one Earth or another, the ones called the Justice Society, or the All-Star Squadron, or the Freedom Fighters, or some such.) "From you, I will require obedience. You shall be my good right hand, my messenger to those who will fight for me. The gatherer and harvester of the soldiers who must wage our last battle. This is, perhaps, the greatest of responsibilities. For it is not meet that I gather them, myself...they will more likely trust one of their own kind. Lyla, once more: will you be my Harbinger?" 

She had no more idea what it meant to be his harbinger than when he had first spoke to her eight physical years ago. But she knew that she loved him, and she trusted him. So she gave the only answer she could. 

"I will," she said.   


And with that he had filled her with power and changed her garb into something no lady of her native era would be caught dead wearing. A blue and red suit that clung to her like skin (for a few seconds, Lyla thought it was her skin, horribly altered), but left all of her legs exposed from thigh to the top of her new boots. She also had a crimson helmet on, like some sort of football player, she thought. 

"This is your uniform," he said. "When you are thus dressed and empowered, you will go and find the ones I require. You will use the powers I give you in my service, and in the service of all positive universes. This is what it means to be my Harbinger. And this is what is required, to help me save the Multiverse." 

She wasn't sure of the import of his words, but she understood enough of what he said to shiver.   
The Monitor taught her the usage of her Harbinger power--how she could split into separate selves, like one of those amoebas she'd seen under a microscope in Professor Simmons's classroom, and then bring them all together again and know what each one of her had learned. When she wished, she could raise her hand and smite an object with the terrible swift sword of some sort of fire from her fingertips. Lyla thought that was well-nigh blasphemous, but the Monitor had told her it was science, and she decided to believe him. 

It did take some getting used to. 

When he thought she was ready for it, he told her she could fly. 

So she did, and she was exhilirated, scraping the ceiling of the satellite home. So many heroes and heroines had this power, but, to her, it had to be the finest power of all...to cancel gravity's hold, to speed in any direction you wanted through the air like the finest of eagles. 

Now she knew why so often, when the Supermen and Supergirls of the Earths they studied flew, they smiled. 

Finally, she alit before the Monitor, and with a gesture he restored her to normalcy again. She went on several missions for him before the great Crisis, but took care not to reveal herself to more than a few beings. 

Lyla learned more of their great foe, who became known later as the Anti-Monitor by those who fought him. He was lord of anti-matter universes, and, the Monitor said, was planning to destroy all positive-matter universes, such as the one she had come from. He had already consumed several such universes, and each time it did, it weakened the Monitor. 

That was why he looked older than before. 

When the Anti-Monitor made his final campaign, that signalled the Crisis on Infinite Earths, as the heroes later called it. The Monitor had her split herself into many different Harbingers, each targeted for a different place or time-era on an Earth. She returned with several superbeings, some heroes, some villains, but all of them soon convinced to work with the Monitor against the being who would destroy their homeworlds. 

But in one plane of existence, the Anti-Monitor hijacked the mind and soul of one of her selves. Thus corrupted, she remerged, and the Enemy could trigger her dark-self whenever he chose. 

He chose to do so at one point, and made her kill the Monitor. 

Then he let her go, and her grief and horror were unbounded. It was all she could do to keep from suiciding. But she and several key allies they had found summoned the super-powered beings of five Earths to the satellite. There she and the others--Pariah and Alex Luthor from the perished Earth-3--convinced most of their guests of the danger their worlds faced, and gained the allegiance of most of the heroes. The villains seemed tougher nuts to crack. 

Eventually, a team of heroes went to the Anti-Monitor's palace in the anti-matter universe of Qward. There they were almost overwhelmed, but two Supergirls, one from a universe even she had never known of, managed to destroy the Enemy with the help of some other heroes of their power level, and with the help of Wildfire, a hero from the future who destroyed the Anti-Monitor's consciousness. 

Wildfire was turned into a star-sun in the anti-matter universe. The Superman of Earth-Two, the first hero to wear that mantle, died in the battle. The Supergirls almost followed suit, but a heroine named Raven had saved them. 

Thus ended the Crisis on Infinite Earths. 

Except for one thing. 

The villains of the five Earths had, from what she had learned, been disappearing from their homeworlds. So far, she had no idea where they had gone. Even the Justice League weren't able to track down their vanished enemies. 

So there she was, on the Justice League satellite that was so unlike the one she had grown up in, trying to put together clues enough to indicate the whereabouts of a vast army of villains. With her on the command deck were Pariah, also known as Kell, whose only known powers were to be drawn to greatest danger and to be apparently immune from destruction; Alexander Luthor, a redheaded son of the hero of Earth-Three, whose body combined both positive and negative matter in stasis; and Lady Quark, the last survivor of Earth-Six, who had nuclear energy powers and who had been saved by Pariah from the holocaust that destroyed her world, her husband, and her daughter; and Zatanna, the magician and member of the Justice League who was on monitor duty. 

Zatanna sauntered over with a cup of coffee for her. "Any luck yet, Lyla? Or should I even ask, this time?" 

Lyla looked up, startled, then reintegrated herself into the "real" environiment and shook her head. "I can't pick up enough. I can't believe that some external agency is disintegrating super-villains. They must have been teleported somewhere, but I can't pick them up on any Earth I've seen, or in any neighboring planets." 

Lady Quark said, "I know very little about the five Earths in our purview, Lyla. What villain--or villains--on them are capable of such a thing?" 

"The Crime Syndicate might have somehow pulled it off, but they're dead," offered Alex Luthor, who was watching several satellite feeds on five monitor screens. "Those are the only villains from my old Earth." 

Pariah, pacing the carpeted floor, said, "Should our role in this universe be that of detectives? I think we would be better employed bringing the science of our worlds to bear on this world's problems. There are scores of 'heroes' on this world, after all." 

Lyla looked at him, sympathetically. Pariah had been a scientist supreme on his Earth, which had been destroyed by the Anti-Monitor. An experiment which allowed him to view part of the Multiverse's creation had awakened the unconscious Enemy, and Pariah had paid for it for ages. Now, he was intent on using what powers he had to make up for his terrible and arrogant blunder. He was also soul-scarred by the memories of all the universes he had seen perish. 

"True, Kell, this world is overloaded with superbeings," said Lyla. "But this is unfinished business, I feel. Until we locate this group of abducted malefactors, the Crisis can't be said to be truly over." 

Pariah opened his mouth to make a rebuttal, or at least that was what Lyla expected him to do. 

But he never got that far. 

Instead, he began to fade from sight. 

Lyla jumped up from her chair, throwing the mental feed away. Alex, Lady Quark, and Zatanna rushed to his side. Pariah was already intangible. 

"Hairap nruter ot su," pronounced Zatanna. And he did, for all of one second. Then he faded out again. 

Vanished. 

Grabbing Zatanna's arm at the elbow, Lyla pleaded, "Find out where he's gone. Use a spell!" 

Obligingly, the sorceress said, "Wohs su erehw Hairap sah enog." Normally, this would have created an image of their friend's whereabouts in the air before them. 

Instead, Zatanna only got a cube of blackness. 

She willed it out of existence, after taking several readings. "I'm being blocked," she said. "I'm going to call in the League." 

"Doesn't make any sense that the one who's transporting the villains would get him, too," opined Alex. "He must have been drawn there by his own power." 

"Aye," said Lady Quark. "And it is only in times of greatest danger that he is drawn away." 

Lyla had heard enough. She stood, closed her eyes, concentrated. 

In an instant, with a sharp flash of light, her normal dress was altered and her body was transformed into the shape of Harbinger. 

"You summon the League," she told Zatanna. "I'll see if I can get everyone else." 

-S- 

The planet of New Genesis lie somewhere close enough to Earth to be accessible by starfaring means, far enough away that even super-heroes were unaware of its existence until the last decade. Then again, if the people of that world (and Apokolips) didn't want to be found, they probably had means to ensure that they were not. 

Most of New Genesis resembles a well-tended park. Its inhabitants, who call themselves the Celestials, but who are referred to as the "New Gods" by those of Terra, are lovers of beauty, and like to keep the planet's surface as near a work of landscaping art as is possible. However, the pleasure gardens have been eroded of late by the necessity of industry, and this is inevitable. 

The industry is the reluctant making of defensive war against Apokolips. 

There was a greater war, a very hot one, made between the two planets in the younger days of Izaya, New Genesis's ruler. The war threatened to destroy both worlds if not stopped, and it did not appear that anything actually could stop it while it raged. 

The conflict had begun when Izaya's wife was murdered by Steppenwolf, a noble of Apokolips. Izaya killed Steppenwolf in combat many months later. If that could have ended the war, or healed his heart, all would have been well. But such was not the case. 

So, on one day, Izaya, who was called the Inheritor from his birth, stripped away his armor, donned a sackcloth robe, took up a walking staff, and journeyed over one of the battlefields of New Genesis. The bodies of a recent combat had not yet been taken away. Izaya judged that good, because he wanted to see them all. He wanted to be pained by the sight. 

And he was. He roved over the pockmarked, burned landscape, viewing victim after victim after victim. Celestials who would never come home to their families. Celestials who had died in his service. 

Izaya didn't know how long he walked, or how far. But he knew, when he saw the great black stone wall before him, that he was in an unfamiliar part of his world. 

No one knew where the wall had come from. It had been there as long as the local inhabitants knew. A legend kept them away from it, and in order to scare a Celestial, it must have been a fearsome legend indeed. 

But Izaya knew no fear as he stood before the wall. Only sorrow. 

He did not know, as he raised his fists, cane, and face to the heavens, whether he was asking God, the wall, or anyone else his question. He only asked it, in a scream. 

"If I am Izaya, the Inheritor, what is my inheritance?" 

At that, a burst of flame had leaped forth from the surface of the wall, almost scorching him. He had a nanosecond to wonder how flame could leap from solid stone. But, after that, he had much more to wonder about. 

He saw a hand. A hand of flame. 

It was writing on the wall. 

It wrote two words, and Izaya read them: 

THE SOURCE. 

That was his answer. 

Izaya went to his knees, then, murmured, "Praise be," and did not move from his position for a very long time. 

When he finally did, he returned to his headquarters and set events in motion. The ruler of Apokolips was contacted. A peace suit was brought. Since Apokolips was hardly less devastated than New Genesis, negotiations were entered. 

In the end, to seal the peace pact, both rulers exchanged sons. Izaya, who now called himself Highfather, yielded up a youth who became known as Scott Free. In return, he received a powerful, hate-filled, murderous demon of a youth, whom he convinced to lay aside his weapon and take Izaya's outstretched hand. In this way, the boy from Apokolips learned a new path, and learned what a father really could be, if that father had compassion. 

His fury was tamed, and bent in the service of New Genesis. 

But it was never far from the surface. 

Now Izaya sat in the chamber of the Source, the building which was erected around the black wall. At his side was Orion, in his red warsuit and gray helmet; Metron, an icy, black-clad technologist in a levitating Moebius Chair, who not only would have sold his soul to gain new and necessary insights, but who had once done so; and Lightray, a white-costumed, speedy New God who could transform himself into light waves when necessary. 

"The earlier stages of this 'Crisis', by and large, passed us by," said Izaya, white-haired and bearded, still dressed in his familiar sackcloth robe. "Yet, the intelligence I have indicates that we can rely no longer on remaining outside its influence." 

Orion, his face a mask of flesh, said, "My father took no part in it that we could tell, Highfather. He chose to wait and see what would occur. Since the uncoupling of the five Earths, we have heard no more from him." 

Metron, in deep, sonorous tones, said, "When our foe is silent, fear him most. He cannot have been idle these last few months. He will capitalize on the wreckage of the Crisis. We can do no less, should we wish to survive." 

"I have faith in the light to triumph over the dark," said Lightray. "And for New Genesis to best Apokolips. But--ask the question, Highfather." 

Izaya stepped closer to the wall of blackness. "Two questions," he said. "First: is our foe active, and does his activity involve Earth?" 

From nowhere, the hand of flame appeared. 

Lightray and Orion drew back. Only Metron, hovering behind them in his chair, did not move. Izaya stood his ground. 

The moving finger traced one fiery word on the wall's surface: 

YES 

Izaya fingered his walking staff and paused before asking his second question. 

"Who should we seek for an ally on Earth?" 

The word vanished from the wall's surface. The fiery hand travelled over it again. 

It drew a symbol. 

Highfather nodded, in comprehension. "Ah," he said. 

The symbol was a mostly-triangular shield, with an S inside its boundaries. 

The New Gods well knew who bore that shield, for they had all encountered him on several occasions. 

But the hand did not stop with that. It sketched another symbol. 

The same shield, with the same S, once more, beside the first. 

Two shields. 

Then the hand vanished and, a second later, so did the shields. 

"Two?" exclaimed Orion. "There are two of them? Which is the second?" 

Highfather turned to him, and lay his good right hand on his adoptive son's mighty shoulder. 

"You must go to Earth and find out," he said. 

To be continued...   
  



	4. Part 4:  An Audience of Shadows

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 4: An Audience of Shadows 

by DarkMark 

It took considerable money to rent the Waldorf-Astoria for a wedding and a reception, but the Challengers of the Unknown had done it. Prof Haley and June Robbins were getting hitched in style. But the guest list showed where they stood in the heroic community: on the second tier. 

JLA marriages were being attended by the entire team, plus guests from other Earths. The Challs had only worked with the League members once, before the latter team had banded together, against Martian invaders to save J'onn J'onzz. The Legion of Death-Cheaters had done well on their own. But, like it or not, they had no super-powers. Their purple uniforms weren't as individualistic and classy as other heroes' outfits. So the invitations they half-heartedly sent to the Justice League satellite were responded to by a note of congratulations, but little else. 

However, the Challs had rubbed shoulders with other heroes who ranked below the biggest, and they showed up for the wedding. Now Rocky Davis, Ace Morgan, Prof Haley, and Red Ryan, who had become a daredevil crimefighting team after surviving a plane crash that should have killed them, were shaking hands with the members of the New Doom Patrol. They'd worked with the old team before, of which only one member, Robotman, now survived. The other three they'd briefly seen during the Crisis, when Harbinger summoned the heroes of five Earths to the Monitor's satellite. But this was the first time they'd had to really meet Celsius, Negative Woman, and Tempest, Cliff Steele's new teammates. 

The Patrol weren't the only heroic guests. The Sea Devils had helped the Challs on one adventure, so Dane and Judy Dorrance, Biff Bailey, and Nicky Walton appeared, out of their usual wetsuits and wearing tuxes (or, in Judy's case, a formal dress). Since Dane and his crew were also members of an amorphous band called the Forgotten Heroes, those worthies had also turned up as guests. Rip Hunter, the "time master", and his three-person crew were on board, as were Rick Flagg, Congo Bill, Animal-Man (the only guest wearing a costume), Dolphin (who frequently fled to the washroom or a nearby water fountain to resaturate herself), and Gardner Grayle, who called himself the Atomic Knight. All these, plus the usual relatives and friends, packed the place for Prof's and June's vows. One of the friends was Tino Manarry, Red's kid brother, an ex-rock star who sang "The Rose Absolute" for the couple with the lyrics changed: "For this is the rose absolute / The flower of my sweet June's love". Red promised to break the other Challs' arms if they didn't applaud, so they did. F. Gaylord Clayburn III, the unofficial "Fifth Challenger", was also there for the occasion. 

But the guest the Challengers were most enthused by was Corinna Stark, the sorceress who had been a fifth Challenger for a time before leaving the group. Ace Morgan, the Challs' leader, was first to welcome her back, and big Rocky hugged her hard until she squealed, "Put me down, you big ape!" 

"Sorry," apologized the big man, and placed her back on her high heels. "Whattya been doin' with yourself, Cory?" 

The redheaded woman brushed her hair away from her mouth. "Of late, continuing my studies. Both in magic and at Stanford. I've been working on my masters in education, believe it or not. But I just couldn't keep away when I heard about the wedding." She extended a hand to June. "Congratulations, dear. You've got a great man on your hands, and I don't think your marriage will live on borrowed time." 

June grinned and shook Corinna's hand. "And you shouldn't stay away so long, Cory. After all, three of the boys are still bachelors. Are you?" 

"Yes," said Corinna. Then her expression sobered. "But that isn't the only reason I've come here, though it'd be reason enough." 

The Challs and Robotman, who was standing nearby, caught her import. "Oh?" asked Red Ryan. His eyes showed that, after all this time, he was still in love with Corinna. "What's the other one?" 

Prof shifted his jaw a bit. "If I know Miss Stark, it's probably in the line of a premonition. Is that the case?" 

Robotman, whose orangish metallic body housed the brain of Cliff Steele, a former racecar driver, stepped closer. "If it's trouble, let us in on it. The Doom Patrol hasn't been gettin' enough action lately to even make the National Enquirer." 

Corinna Stark hugged herself, as if cold. "Just dreams, at first...dreams of darkness. But something within the darkness, itself...cold, calculating, all of that. On a level I never faced before, not even with you." 

Animal Man, who'd been eavesdropping, opined, "If it's magic, maybe the Enchantress is in it. We fought her when she was with those Forgotten Villain pipsqueaks awhile back." 

"It's magic, but something more," said Corinna. "Like a great work is about to be undertaken. I didn't know anyone else to contact but you." She looked up at Prof, wondering. 

Prof sighed, and looked at June. "Shortest honeymoon on record, maybe," she said. 

"Not necessarily," said Prof. "Unless Corinna can give us more specifics on this darkness-whatsis, the Challengers can't take action. We can't just fight a dream." 

Celsius, the temperature-altering Doom Patroller, was about to add a comment. But as he opened his mouth, he beheld something that stopped his speech entirely. 

A potted plant near the elevator was growing larger by the instant, and shaping itself into something vaguely and hideously manlike. 

Celsius pointed, and the assemblage of heroes reacted. They surrounded the plant-being, ready to attack. Super-villains had crashed assemblages of heroes before, and most of them half-expected such an occurrence at this wedding. 

Then the plantman spoke. 

"I seek...the Challengers," it said. "We have...worked together...before." 

Rocky Davis gaped. "Holy Chrysler! It sounds like the Swamp Thing." 

Red Ryan said, "It is the Swamp Thing. But I didn't know you could do that...morph yourself out of a plant." 

"It is...a talent I have...acquired...since we met," allowed the Swamp Thing. "My con...gratulations...on your wedding." 

"Thanks," said Prof. "If we'd known where to send it, we would've given you an invitation." 

Corinna Stark examined the Swamp Thing closely. "A plant elemental," she said. "Like Jack-In-the-Green, and all the others. It'd be an honor to study you, sir, if I might." 

"Some other time," said Swamp Thing. "For now...I must tell you...the Crisis is not over. The Green...has told me...of Darkness." 

The heroes reacted individually, but all who heard his labored words reacted. 

A concierge ran up, with a look of terror on his face. "What, ah, what is, that is, who is, that thing, that, uh, person...that plant..." 

Ace lay a reassuring hand on the man's shoulder. "It's okay, friend," he said. "He's with us." 

-S- 

Kara rose up in bed and held her head in her hands. Dev was drowsing. It took him a while to notice her posture. He cursed himself. Being slow to wake was deadly, in his business. 

She made no sound. Dev reached out, touched her bare back gently. "Kara? What's wrong?" 

She drew in a breath and let it out, not wanting to speak. "I don't think it's going to work, Dev." 

"Well, why not?" He raised himself up on one elbow and encircled her shoulders with his arm. Both were sleeping in the nude, sharing a hotel room in Seattle. They had registered as Mr. and Mrs. Dev Emerson, paid in cash, and gotten a look from the night clerk that was all too wise for her tastes. 

So that was what it felt like to be that kind of girl. 

Kara said, "I don't think it's going to work because we can't live in the same time. You don't...don't want to live in this century. I can't go live in the 30th, away from all of my parents all the time. You don't want to get married, I don't know if I do or not, and my folks don't approve of it--" 

Dev was giving her a light neck massage. "If it makes you feel any better, my mother thinks you're simply the tops. She told me." 

"Oh, Sheol," Kara snapped. "All right, thank her for me. But..." She turned to him with a look of anguish in her eyes. "How can we make this work, Dev? How do you think we can make this work?" 

He paused. "Aren't we making it work as much as we can, Kara? Aren't we, I don't know, going the second mile to try and please each other? What more do you want, right now?" 

"I want us to be together." 

"Well, we are together." 

"I want to come home and know you'll be there waiting for me. I want to know that I won't have to wait till the weekend to see you." 

"Then come to the 30th, Kara." 

"No." 

"All right, then." He let go of her neck and shoulders and lay back in the bed. "You want to call it quits?" 

She looked at him, horrified. "No!" 

Dev put his hands behind his head. "Why not? As you've pointed out, we've got ten centuries of separation between us, and I'm a disagreeable bastard as well." 

"You're the man I love," she said, looking straight at him in the darkness. "Damn it," she said, softly. 

"And you're the girl I love," Dev said, matter-of-factly. "Whose mouth would get cleaned out with heat-vision by Kal, if he heard what you just said." 

"I don't give a rip what Kal hears! This is my life, Dev. Mine. I've...just got to get it in order, somehow." She sighed, bringing up her knee and hugging it. "I've been in love before, Dev, but not this deeply. Have you been in love before?" 

"Sure. Not quite like this, though." 

"Because I'm a Krypt?" 

"Because you are you." 

She touched his bare stomach, feeling it come up and down with his breaths. "Flatterer," she said. 

"What do you want me to tell you, Karaish?" He ran his fingertip gently up her spine and loved the way she tilted her head back, her eyes closed. "Do you think I'd take this much time and trouble for a woman I didn't love? Even if she's so good--" 

"You stop that!" snapped Kara, with a giggle, whacking him in the chest. "Now who needs his mouth heat-visioned?" 

"You don't love it when I talk dirty? Especially about you?" 

She lay over him, across his chest, and felt all of him beneath her, the skin, the hair upon his breast, the muscle and bone beneath that, the human warmth, the love. Not making love, but just touching. Rao, how had she lived so long without this? This was what men and women were made for. 

"I want you so badly, Dev," she said, fighting back tears. "I want you all the time." 

"I know you do, Karaish," he said, his arms folded about her, feeling the fine feminine body that she'd hid under that blue-and-red costume for far too long. "But...we take what we can get. And right now...we can get quite a lot." 

She was on top of him then, in just the correct way, and it did not matter how many times they had done this before. This was the first time, the last time, the always time. The ultimate touching. 

They entwined in mid-air, just managing not to bump the ceiling, and crashed back into bed after the deed was done. 

It was a while before they could speak. 

"We didn't break the bed this time, did we?" asked Dev. "I mean, we really didn't, did we? I don't want to cost you any more money." 

"It's...just fine, Dev," murmured Kara. "It's all...just fine." 

"I suppose," he said, cradling her head against his chest. "I suppose it is just fine tonight, Kara." He brushed a bit of tangled hair away from her face. She was already sleeping. 

It was worth everything to hold her like that, to feel her warmth and weight and breath, even in this godforsaken century. Even if it was only for the night, and the next day. 

Even if he was beginning to feel, as Kara had, that somehow, they were being watched. 

-K- 

The fortress of living stone near the world of Qward in the anti-matter universe was no longer alive. With the passing of its master had passed its animation. The Flash had destroyed the great cannon with which the Enemy had planned to destroy whole worlds, at the cost of his own life. Now, only two sorts of beings roamed its halls. 

One sort was the shadows, who had done the Anti-Monitor's bidding and brought death and destruction where he wished surgical strikes to be made. 

The other had just arrived recently, and, in his way, he was darker than the shadows. 

The newcomer's massive body was protected by a force-field, so neither the negative matter of this universe nor the cold and deadly touch of the shadows affected him. He communicated with them, both verbally and with his mind. They did not verbally answer him. It made no difference. 

"Shadows," he said. "Without substance. Really, less than even that. Shadows without a master. Wandering stars. Men fear you, but, actually, you are little to fear. Without a king, you can do little." 

He felt the anger from the ebon beings, but knew that they agreed with him, grudgingly. They would have destroyed him if they could. 

"I am a king," said the newcomer. "I am a king in my own world. Perhaps not as powerful as your old master, but wiser. Yes, certainly that. I can succeed where he failed. I can do this with you, or without you. But you might be of use. Conceivably." 

The response was one of curiosity. 

"You may spend eternity, roaming these Sourceforsaken halls," the being continued. "Or you may accept my rulership, obey my mightiest command and merest whim, and purpose, yes, purpose will be yours. And sweetest victory. Triumph over the ones who killed your master. Does that sound interesting, all of you?" 

The response was positive, in the extreme. 

"Feel my power, shadows. Know my wisdom. My purpose is to rule. That which I cannot rule, I will destroy. But much destruction shall be wrought, before rule is established. Shall you be the blackness at my right hand?" 

If the response was verbal, it would have deafened him. 

"Then pledge," he said. "Pledge loyalty. To me. To your deaths--and beyond." 

He knew they had pledged. 

It was his first voyage to this dimension, his first time within these walls. But without error, he strode through the halls to the room which the Anti-Monitor had once ruled from. The shadows followed, at a respectful distance. 

The throne, though damaged, was still standing. 

The newcomer approached it, regarded it, then sat down in it. 

He could almost hear the sigh of non-breath from the shadow beings. 

The throne, they all agreed, was now well-filled again. 

-S- 

There is a bit of subway track beneath the streets of Fawcett City that you can't get to unless you have been approached by someone who has been there before. Very few people have. Even the mayor, the city manager, and the people in charge of building and maintaining the line haven't a clue. 

That was why the ghostly form of Old Shazam held court there, in a special room, summoned by the lighting of a brazier, as he had telepathically instructed Captain Marvel to do. The Earth upon which they lived had been given a designation in honor of him. Those who travelled between dimensions referred to it as "Earth-S", for Shazam. 

It was a word that never passed Captain Marvel's lips, unless he wanted to switch identities. 

Now he stood before the old wizard's shade, as he had so many times since the day in 1940 when they first met. The robed and bearded ancient's form was semitransparent, and it would have caused him to shudder, had he not known him for this long. Instead, he felt a strong affection for the being whom he well-nigh saw as a father, now. 

"Great sir," said Marvel, "you summoned me. For what reason?" 

"The wisdom of Solomon is useless without the information upon which to work," said Shazam, seeming to wheeze a bit. "The event which your kind called the 'Crisis' seemed to be over, a short time ago. But..." 

Captain Marvel tensed. 

"...even as a flame thought extinguished may rise again from a single spark...so the darkness may gather again from a single shadow," Shazam continued. 

"And the...cause of this shadow?" asked the World's Mightiest Mortal. 

"Unclear, at this point," said Shazam. "But the emanations derive from that universe parallel to our own. The evil is strong, young Billy, if its stench can be smelt so far from home. And if it is so powerful, then it may threaten even our world, very soon." 

"Would this universe be that of Earth-One?" ventured Captain Marvel. "The one in which our friend Superman lives?" 

"The very one," confirmed Shazam. "Evildoers have vanished from our world, Billy, without our knowledge of their destination. I believe, though my powers of observation are limited in that realm, that they have been taken to that plane. The entire Family will be required." 

"I will summon Mary and Junior," said Marvel. "We'll be at the Rock of Eternity and in their world within the night." 

"Not just Mary and Junior," cautioned the wizard. "More than they are needed." 

Captain Marvel considered it. "Ibis, then? Most of the Squadron of Justice are too old, I fear, to be of much use." 

"Ibis, Bulletman, and Bulletgirl still remain strong enough to serve," said Shazam. "As does the young one who is Freddy's blood relation, whom you call Kid Eternity. But even they will not be enough." 

The red-clad hero looked perplexed. "Then who?" 

Shazam leaned forward on his throne of granite. "You must go to a certain city. You must contact a certain woman, and bring her back to her days of power and virtue." 

"Her name, great sir?" 

"Her name is Andrea Thomas." 

-S- 

When the Boom Tube went off in the skies over Metropolis, everybody thought at first that some plane had blown up and ran around to look for cover. Fortunately, that wasn't the case. 

Unfortunately, they looked up and saw a host of oddly-dressed characters who had emerged from a glowing circle in the air that was fading from sight. One was in a red suit and a grey helmet and seemed to be riding a flying exercise machine. Another was a guy in black, sitting on a flying chair. A third was a glowing dude who seemed to be leaving a trail of light behind him as he flew. The fourth was a blue-skinned girl with red hair and blank eyes like Orphan Annie's. The fifth, a shorter guy than the rest, was dressed in red and white and seemed to move quickly upon the building roof where they landed, like a scuttling sort of insect. 

It just had to be some damn trick of Lex Luthor's. 

Before too much longer, word had gotten out to Sgt. Thomas "Terrible" Turpin of the Metropolis PD, who had dealt with these mugs before, and to Inspector Henderson, who had hoped he'd never have to. Turpin had flagged down the immigrants from New Genesis, gotten the 411 on who they wanted to see, and, sitting them down at the station house and showing them how to work the coffee machine, he put in a call to the Daily Planet. A few yells later, he was connected to Jimmy Olsen. 

"You still got that wristwatch thing to call Superman with?" he demanded, right off the bat. 

"Yeah, Sarge," said Jimmy, curiously, having recognized Turpin's voice. 

"Then call him and tell him to get his big blue bod to my precinct, on the double," roared Turpin. "Orion and his boys are back. And I don't want any more of my turf torn up like it was last time they were here. So get him here, so they can get out. Got it?" 

"Uh," said Jimmy. "Orion? The guy from the New Gods?" 

"No, I mean Paddy O'Ryan from County Cork. Of course, it's Orion from the New Gods! Now do it! Goodbye." The connection went dead before Jimmy could say another word. 

He looked around the city desk. Dave Stevens, Melba Manton, Meg, Percy, all the usual gang were there. Except for Clark and Lois, who were still on honeymoon. 

"You know," he said, to everybody and himself, "there really, really are times when I wish this thing didn't work." 

He pressed the face of the watch in just a certain way. 

A "ZEE-ZEE-ZEE" sound was emitted that only a very few pair of ears on Earth could hear. 

Jimmy sighed, rubbed his eyes, and took a seat facing the window. 

To be continued...   



	5. Part 5:  New Gods and Old

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

by DarkMark 

Part 5: New Gods and Old 

Andrea Thomas looked at the costumed people who stood before her with vagueness in her eyes. "Why are you here?", she asked. "Is this some sort of masquerade ball?" 

Captain Marvel looked at her with sadness in his eyes. "You were one of us, Ms. Thomas. Your other identity--it was Isis. The superheroine, Isis. We've met before. Don't you remember?" 

"Isis?" said Andrea, both hands in her lap. She was sitting dully in front of a television which was beaming forth an episode of General Hospital. Luke was finally coming back to Laura. She had to miss that because some oddly-garbed strangers had come to her house. 

"I think she's under a spell of some sort," offered Mary Marvel, who was pained at seeing another superheroine in such a state. None of them but Captain Marvel had met Isis. The woman who sat before them was a normal human being. Perhaps she was pretty, but she had let herself go. Her hair could have standed washing, her makeup was basically thrown on, and the housedress and robe she was wearing would have been trashed by most self-respecting housewives. 

The worst part of it was the vagueness in her eyes. Was she amnesiac? Aphasic? 

Neither Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel, Jr., Mary Marvel, Bulletman, Bulletgirl, Ibis, or Kid Eternity knew. In fact, if Shazam had not told Captain Marvel that Andrea Thomas was really Isis, he would have not known where to find her. 

All they knew is that the beautiful superheroine with magical powers derived from the old wizard himself had appeared, fought crime briefly, then vanished without a trace. That was several years ago. 

Why hadn't Shazam told the Marvel Family earlier, if Andrea Thomas was in trouble? The Captain considered it, then shrugged, mentally. The old wizard must have had his reasons. 

The turbaned magician, Ibis, sensed an affinity with the woman. His magic, like hers, and like himself, derived from the ancient Black Land. The Marvel Family's powers also derived from a wizard who had practiced in Pharaoh's court. Indeed, without the mysticism of that time and that land, there would be few superheroes on their Earth today. 

Now, Ibis raised his mighty wand. "Ibistick," he said. "Reveal to the woman her true self." 

"That will be enough!" 

The voice came from the door to the outside. Standing framed in it was a brown-haired, mustached man in a plain business suit, one hand holding a bag of groceries, the other outthrust and glowing. 

"Rick," said Andrea. "Do you know these--oh, my!" 

A transparent image had appeared in the air before Andrea. An image of a beautiful, brown-haired woman in a short-skirted white dress, calf-high leather boots, and wristlets, wearing a belt, a large golden collar, and a tiara, all bearing the same symbol. She knew, somehow, it was the symbol of Isis. 

She also knew that the woman looked like her. An impossibly lovely version of herself. But--could it be? Were these strange people telling her that she had once been this Isis? 

It was hard to think. It was especially hard to think of things before a few years ago, when Rick had taken her in. When he had her quit her teaching job. When he made the decisions for her, because thinking was so very hard. He was nice that way. He bought the groceries, paid the rent. Kept her company sometimes. Such a nice man. 

And now Rick had fired a lightning bolt of some sort from his hand, which the young boy in blue had caught on his chest, bowling himself over. The man with the bullet-shaped helmet on his head had barrelled into Rick, knocking him into the wall and cracking it. Oh, that was going to be hard to repair. Was this some sort of football game played indoors? And the bag of groceries had spilled all over the floor. The bottle of salsa had busted open and was getting the rug all gooey and full of busted glass. That'd have to be washed, but vacuumed first. 

Six of the visitors had piled on Rick and were holding him down. "Please, could you get out of the way of my television?" she asked, reasonably. "My story will be over in about fifteen minutes, and then I'll make some coffee for you all." 

The brown-haired boy with the white shirt, mauve pants, and red waist sash was standing before her now. He looked like he was talking to someone who wasn't there. 

"Don't worry, Keep," he was saying. "I know what to do. Even if it takes me till...ETERNITY!" 

There was a flash of bright light and a crack of thunder. 

Andrea couldn't understand how it could have occurred indoors. 

But standing before her now was a shortish, shapely, dusky-skinned woman wearing very little besides a bikini and some ornate, ancient-looking gold jewelry. The jewel she wore at her throat was--sakes alive!--a duplicate of the one Andrea wore on her tiara. Rick had tried to take it off her head before, but he seemed to burn his fingers every time he touched it, so he left it alone. 

"Can you help?" asked the boy. 

She stared at him. "No one but I can, I fear. Thank you, Eternal Youth." Then she turned to Andrea. "Do you recognize me, sister of my soul?" 

"Don't listen to her!" yelled Rick, who was being pinned down by several of the people in costumes. "She's a demon! She'll steal your soul, Andrea!" 

"No," said the girl. "I will restore it. Place your hand on your amulet, Andrea. The jewel on your tiara." 

It didn't seem as though it would hurt anything, so Andrea obeyed. "Like this?" 

"ANDREA!" 

She turned to Rick, who looked as though he was about to throw off all six of the others. "I'll be through in a minute, dear." 

"Now, repeat after me," said the woman, and she could see tenseness on the face of the boy behind her. "O mighty--" 

"O mighty Isis!", said Andrea, with a sudden conviction that even she couldn't have credited. 

There was no thunder. 

But there was a brief, blue flash, of magic held pent for far too long, and liberated now in joyous transformation. 

Rick tried to mutter a spell in an ancient tongue and Captain Marvel belted him. 

The woman who arose from the chair was not Andrea Thomas. 

She was the woman shown in Ibis's vision, the heir of Shazam's wizardry through her predecessor, the heroine who had too long been entrapped by her vilest foe. 

And now she was free. 

The woman grasped the hand of the Egyptian girl. "Soul-sister, it has been too long." 

The girl smiled. "Truth told. But I shall always be with you, O Isis." 

"Peace be with you in the House of the Dead," said the heroine, "O Isis." 

"Eternity," said Kid Eternity, and the girl from Egypt vanished in another puff of smoke and peal of thunder. 

Isis, looking resolute, walked on her high-heeled boots over to the pile of heroes and villain. "Release him," she ordered. 

"Holey moley," said Mary Marvel, appreciatively. "So that's Isis!" 

"This guy's fighting like a beached killer whale," grunted Bulletman. "No way are we gonna let him--" 

With a final surge, Rick Mason pushed upward, throwing the sextet of heroes off of him. He stood, before they could regroup, and faced Isis, madness and hatred in his visage. "You," he hissed. "You, I'll kill." 

But before he could mouth the spell he had in mind, the lovely woman in white spoke her own: 

"This body free from wizard's soul,   
Rick Mason's mind and form be whole!" 

Rick lunged for her, but he only managed a step or two before collapsing. 

He collapsed because something came visibly out of him. Something that looked like a dark-skinned, red-caped, half-naked Egyptian, with a large gold belt bearing an ornate serpent on its front. On his face was the madness that had been on Rick's visage. 

But the strange being from Rick's body didn't quite reach Isis. Within a foot of her, he simply faded from view. She stood there, hands on hips, looking confident. 

The other heroes had regrouped by now, and regarded her with awe and appreciation. Isis smiled at them, and especially at Kid Eternity. "Thank you for restoring me," she said to them. "For too many years have I lain dormant. And in that time did Serpenhotep increase his powers. You have noted this, yes?" 

Bulletgirl, who was dusting herself off, said, "Yeah, if holding a guy down who fights like ten bucking broncos is any indication." 

Ibis extended his Ibistick towards her. "O daughter of the Nile, I bring you greetings from the Black Land. Peace be unto your house." 

She touched the tip of the Ibistick, in acceptance. "O son of Pharaoh's court, I return thy greetings. Peace unto your house, and justice attend thee." None of the others had gotten a greeting like this from Ibis the Invincible, and they regarded the ceremony with wonder. 

Captain Marvel grinned. "It's good to see you back, Isis." 

Isis smiled back. "It's fine seeing you as well, Captain. Who told you where I could be found? Old Shazam?" 

"The very one," acknowledged Marvel. 

"So, where have you been these last three years, Isis?" asked Captain Marvel, Jr. "And who was that guy who jumped out of this guy's body?" He gestured towards Rick Mason, who was lying unconscious on the carpet. 

Ibis looked at Rick. "The wizard's name was Serpenhotep," she said. "He was the greatest enemy of my soul-sister in ancient times, and a foe of old Shazam. Serpenhotep once trapped Shazam, and, to become free, the old wizard passed on some of his power to the Isis of eld, whom you saw speaking to me. Not the hero-power whom you of the Marvel Family now possess, but the mysticism that was Shazam's new heritage. The Isis of that time helped free Shazam and defeat Serpenhotep. His spirit was pent within a tiny pyramid, which was later brought to this city's museum. 

"In this era, my Andrea Thomas-self became Isis when on an archaelogical dig in Egypt. She found the amulet-tiara I now wear, and a scroll which promised her the powers of Isis--powers over the forces of nature, over the beasts of the field, and over the extranormal abilities of the mind. When Andrea put on this circlet, and spoke my name, with 'O mighty' preceding it, she became the modern incarnation of myself. She became Isis." 

Captain Marvel, Jr. blinked. Freddy Freeman and Billy and Mary Batson had thought themselves only lucky beneficiaries of Shazam's power, and later found that they were chosen. He had a feeling that Andrea Thomas had been chosen long before, too. Whether she knew it now, or not. 

"Three years ago, the wizard Serpenhotep did escape his bondage, and fought me," Isis continued. "I defeated him then, and thought I imprisoned him in the pyramid anew. But he had taken over the form of my friend Rick Mason, whom you see below us, and Rick's mind was pent within the prison intended for Serpenhotep. Thus, I was off my guard. 

"Serpenhotep, in Rick's body, lay a subtle spell of dominance upon me. It took some months to take effect, but my mind was made sluggish. Andrea Thomas could not remember my other-self, nor much of her own. Thus, mine enemy was able to build his power, preparing for a strike against this world. I know not how much more time he would have taken. But without your intervention--" She let the sentence hang. 

"Glad we intervened, then," said Bulletman. "Even though I thought Cap was crazy when he told me about it." 

"What about Serpenhotep?" asked Junior. "Where is he now?" 

Isis said, "Back within the pyramid. Rick Mason's mind is once again within his body. It is to be hoped that he will remember nothing of his imprisonment. I reccomend that we take the pyramid to Shazam, on the Rock of Eternity, for its safekeeping." 

Captain Marvel said, "Good advice, but it's going to have to wait for awhile. We came here for two reasons, Isis. One: to get you back from wherever you were. Two: to bring you along with us. The old wizard has seen a source of great and spreading darkness, based on Earth-One. That's where we're bound for, and we need your help." 

The lovely woman looked curious. "I know nothing of this 'Earth-One'. Is this another Earth than our own? And what is the nature of this darkness?" 

"If you'll come with us, we'll show you," said Mary Marvel. "How about it? We've left the three Lieutenant Marvels to look over things while we're gone." 

The woman in white stepped forward. "For freeing me from my soul-prison, and for freeing Andrea Thomas of her mind's bondage, I'd join my hand with yours even if t'was not my duty. Which it is." 

Ibis nodded. "Well said, woman of the way. Then, if you would join us outside, we shall be on our way to the Eternity Rock." 

"Next stop, Superman's burg," said Junior. "All aboard!" 

The seven heroes stepped out of Andrea's home, their existences blocked from passerbys' perception by one of Ibis's spells. Then, almost as one, they rose into the air. Isis was the last, chanting, 

"O zephyr winds that blow on high,   
Lift me up that I may fly!" 

With that, a great surge of air and antigravitic force built under Isis and hurled her into the heavens. She caught up to the others within seconds. They waved at her and she waved back, joining their formation. 

She smiled. 

It was good to be back. 

-S- 

Kara loved posing in a bikini on the beach for Dev, so long as she got to take pictures of him in his Speedos, too. 

The Nikon she had wasn't what Dev was used to, but she showed him how to use it and before long he had it mastered. So she frolicked in the surf of the isolated beach they'd chosen, comporting herself like a bathing suit model. She wouldn't think of letting her picture be taken in the nude, but Kara appreciated her body and didn't mind showing it off in a skimpy suit. 

The fun part was when she struck a pose while hovering several feet off the ground. Let Christie Brinkley try to match that! 

After she did a backshot looking over her shoulder like Betty Grable in a World War II poster, Kara said, "That's enough of me. Let's get some of you." 

"Oh, you know what I look like." 

"Hush, Dev. Women have needs, too." He handed over the camera and she advanced it one frame. "Now. Turn around and flex." 

"Turn around?" 

"Yes, and look over your shoulder and smile. You've got a handsome tush. That's it, and..." 

BOOM. 

She snapped the shutter reflexively as both of them wheeled towards the direction of the sound. 

There was a glowing circle in the sky, probably only a few hundred yards distant. Figures were emerging from it, and one looked awfully familiar. 

"Damn it," snapped Kara. 

Dev looked resolute. "That's it. That is bloody well it. I am going to have a word with El and that's all there is to it. He cannot keep dropping in on us this way. Sick and damned tired of it." He leaped into the air. Kara grabbed him by the ankle and hauled him down. 

"Wait. Let them come to us. Let's hear 'em out. Even Kal isn't thickheaded enough to do this without good reason." 

"In-laws," groaned Dev, sitting crosslegged and glum on the sand. "And we're not even married yet." 

Superman led the pack, and, as Kara looked at the others, she saw one who was also familiar to her. But, she reflected, she wouldn't see him for another 1,000 years. 

He was the one in the red shirt and pants, grey trunks, gloves, boots, and helmet, riding a contraption that looked like two curved pipes with handlebars. What she could see of his face looked more masklike than his helmet. 

"Orion," she said to herself. 

Not far from him in the sky was a man clad in black, only his face exposed, and that telling as little as an undertaker's. He was riding in a flying chair, and the only part of him that seemed to move was his right index finger, to press a button now and then. 

From the context he was in, she matched him with Kal's tale of how he, the Justice League, and the Justice Society had once teamed with Orion's allies against a foe she and the Legion had faced in the future. This chair-rider had to be Metron. 

A blonde, youthful-looking, handsome male was shooting through the glowing aperture under his own power. He left a glowing trail of light behind him. He wore a white uniform, and Kara guessed that this was the one called Lightray. 

Loping through the circle, dropping to the beach, and ambling forward on legs that seemed to be double-jointed, was a shortish person in a headmask of red with insectoid eyepieces, a white vest, and red sleeves and leggings. She had no idea who this person was, and guessed Superman had never met him. 

Another one of the party was female, but blue-skinned and red-haired. Her eyes seemed to have no pupils, and were yellow and slightly slanted. She wore a pinkish halter, bikini bottom, shoes, and cape, completing the uniform with fishnet stockings. Kara glanced at Dev, saw he was looking at the girl, and momentarily considered stinging him with heat-vision. This, too, was another person of whom she knew nothing. 

"Kara," said Superman, whose booted feet squished into the wet sand as he landed. "I'm sorry. We need your help." 

"El, you need to quit butting into our business without an invitation," said Dev, standing up and putting his fists on his hips. "And we aren't issuing any invitations to you!" 

Kara stepped between them as the five others approached. "Cool down, Devian. Kal...Dev does have a point. But what's the story?" 

Orion sized her up, not as a man looking at a girl in a bikini, she thought, but like a sergeant assessing another soldier. To Superman, he said, "This is the second shield?" 

"Second what?" asked Kara, agape. 

The blue girl stepped forward, smiling hesitantly, and offered Kara her pink-gloved hand. "A thousand pardons, milady. If we could have met you at a more opportune time--but our hand is forced. My name is Jezebelle, of the Celestials." 

Kara shook her hand. "I'm Kara Zor-El. Pleased to meet you." 

The small, red-masked guy took off his mask and revealed a normal, human-looking face beneath. "Hi," he said. "I'm Forager. You can call me Bug." 

The one in white had to do a couple of circles around them all before he could brake his speed, but finally pulled up before Dev, grabbed his hand before it was offered, and shook it vigorously. "Hola, warrior," he said, with a big grin. "'Tis well that we meet. Call me Lightray, friend of Orion, soldier of Highfather, and foe of Apokolips." 

"I'm Dev-Em," muttered Dev. "Now, will you please stop shaking my hand?" 

The man in black hovered about seven feet above the ground in his chair, and looked down upon the rest of them. "I am Metron," he said, and left it there. 

Orion stepped up to her and said, "The Source directed us to seek two persons who bore the shield Superman wears on his chest. Are you the other?" 

Kal said, "This is Orion, Kara. And, Orion, this is my cousin Kara Zor-El, otherwise known as Supergirl. I think she's the one you're looking for." 

"I've seen him before," said Kara. "In an image, I mean." Superman glanced meaningfully and silently at her, and she returned it. Both of them had seen a simulacrum of Orion and his foster father, Izaya, during a battle they shared with the Legion of Super-Heroes ten centuries in the future. She really didn't feel like explaining it right now, and neither did Kal. 

"Would somebody mind telling me really--I mean, really--why all of you had to set off a bomb to get our attention, and why you had to show up here and now, of all times and places?" said Dev. "There's a reason we were here alone, you know. I mean, you are aware of that, right?" 

Superman set his jaw. "I know, Dev, and I apologize to both of you. But this is very important. What you heard was the opening of the Boom Tube. That's the New Genesis transport device that brought us all here, after I determined your location." 

"Just friggin' great," groused Dev. "A telescopic-vision peepin' Tom." 

"Dev, please," said Kara, in a voice that brooked no argument. 

"The Source directed me to you both," said Orion to Kara. "You must come with us." 

"Tell me why," she said, the tide washing gently over her bare feet as she stood there. 

He gave her a name. A one-word name. Dev's eyes widened. He had been in on that Legion case, too. 

"In that case," sighed Kara, "let me get dressed." 

"I'm coming with you," said Dev. 

She looked at him. "But, Dev...you know who we're up against." 

"That's why I'm coming with you," he declared. "Three Krypts are better than two. Right, El?" 

Superman held his face as steady as he could. "If you insist, Dev. But you'd better be a team player on this one." 

"If this guy's in town, everybody in the universe is going to be on the opposing team," said Dev. 

"Let us get dressed," said Kara. "Then where?" 

"The Justice League satellite," said Kal. "We've gotten a message from Harbinger. She's going to be meeting us there with a few guests." 

Kara looked at him for a moment. The name Harbinger brought back foul memories of the Crisis, in which she had come near to death. She chose not to mention its context to Dev, though. Not just yet. He hadn't been there. 

She turned to Dev and, hand in hand, they flew towards their housing. 

Bug, looking at her retreating form, said, "She's blonde. She looks great in a bikini. She flies. So why couldn't I meet her when she didn't have a boyfriend?" 

"Hush, Bug," said Jezebelle. 

-S- 

After the moment of transition, a new vista greeted Pariah's eyes. It seemed to be a throne room of sorts. From the aura of menace that he sensed radiating from it, he knew his power had not failed him. This time, he almost wished it had. 

Several beings were present in the room, and all reacted to his presence with surprise. One seemed to be a gigantic humanoid primitive, with a large bush of black hair and a beard, holding a war club. Another was a large male in a green and yellow costume, who looked at him with astonishment and anger. A third, red-haired and handsome, stood in a white robe and seemed to have the bearing of an orator. The fourth person was a woman, large, hefty, powerful-looking, white-haired, old, and not at all attractive, clad in some sort of warrior's uniform. The fifth was dressed in brown and seemed to have no face at all, until one firmed up on his blank visage. The face, when it arrived, was black-haired, with thick eyebrows, a dagger beard, and a piercing, pitiless gaze. 

But it was the sixth who drew his attention the most. He was the figure sitting in the ornate stone throne. 

His face, exposed arms, and legs were gray, as gray and hard as stone. The back of his head was covered by a blue helmet of sorts, and his vest, shorts, gloves, and boots were also blue. His very presence, Pariah sensed, bespoke power and evil. Not on as great a scale of power, perhaps, as the Anti-Monitor. But he almost seemed like an Anti-Monitor scaled down. 

"We have an unexpected guest," said the grey being. "I detect others looking for you. My shields will prevent their finding you." 

The others waited for what would come next, or for a sign from their lord. 

"I am Kell, also called Pariah," said the newcomer, after enough silence had been experienced. 

The grey man's face was split by a smile, and that, to Pariah, seemed the most fearsome thing he had yet seen in this place. 

"We are pleased to meet you," he said. "My name is Darkseid." 

To be continued...   



	6. Part 6:  Mist and Fate

  
Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

by DarkMark 

Part 6: Mist and Fate 

Doctor Mist was one of the few beings who could speak to Doctor Fate on the latter's own terms, though they had first met only a few months ago in the Monitor's satellite. Like most of the meetings in that place, it had been a brief encounter, mostly just a "hello" among the crowd. But each recognized the other's power. 

Now, the man in the golden helmet was speaking to him through a crystal ball. That was Fate's preferred way of transdimensional communication. 

"There is little hard evidence to go on yet," Fate was saying. "But the scrying indicates an impending threat. I am glad to know your basic agreement." 

Mist, the African sorceror supreme of Earth-One, had lived for over eleven millenia. He had been given immortality in the Flame of Life, and had founded Kor soon afterward, but had eventually left the city and what empire he had given it. Others had come in his wake. He now dwelt in a mountain whose face was carved in his likeness. 

But the likeness, like that of King Ozymandias, showed him as he had been--a tyrant, who ofttimes misused his powers. He had changed his ways, had repented, and now used his mystical abilities covertly, for the most part. Even the heroes of this world had not known of him until recently. But the Global Guardians, the team of international superbeings he brought together, had known of him and accepted his leadership. Superman knew of him as well, when he and the Guardians had fought side-by-side against a team of villains operating in different parts of the world. 

Fate, he had learned, belonged to a different Earth. His source of power was the golden helmet, in which rested the essence of Nabu, a Lord of Order. Kent Nelson, a youth in the 1920's, had been given the helmet, the amulet, the blue-and-gold costume, and the power to fight the dangers from the darkness in his plane. When he emerged in 1940, he called himself Dr. Fate. Now he was married to a woman named Inza, he was both an archaeologist, a professor, and a doctor, but he still fought villainy, both mystic and otherwise, usually alongside the Justice Society. 

There was much, Mist decided, that each might learn from the other. If they dared. 

"I have sensed the darkness, but its source is not on this world," admitted Mist. "As to its origin point, one cannot say at this time. Either it is far from Earth, or its author is a master of concealment, or both." 

"But," said Fate, "it is likely that Earth will not be kept outside its reach for long." 

"We know of the vanished villains as well as you do," Mist said, sweeping his red cape behind him. "If we could but snatch one of these persons before transition, place a tracing spell upon him, the mystery might be illuminated." 

"If our foe has this sort of power, it is likely he could detect and negate such a spell," advised Fate. "It would be worth a try, however. Still, the watchword is that the Crisis, though staved off, has not yet run its course. You agree?" 

Doctor Mist said, "In light of current revelations, with much regret--I must." 

"The Justice Society will be entering Earth-One's plane soon, to offer aid," Fate said. "Will the Global Guardians be at the side of the League?" 

Mist looked upon the rows of statuettes before him, each of them representing one of the heroes he could call upon. The Bushmaster. Godiva. Green Fury. Icemaiden. Impala. Jack O'Lantern. The Little Mermaid. The Olympian. Owlwoman. The Seraph. The Tasmanian Devil. Thunderlord. Tuatara. The Rising Sun, the new Doctor Light, and Sunburst, who composed Japan's newly-formed Team of Three. And the Wild Huntsman. 

"You may count on it," promised Doctor Mist. 

-S- 

It was another mob scene on the JLA satellite, Supergirl discovered, but not as bad as it had been in the Monitor's one during the Crisis. For one thing, the League's orbiting headquarters didn't have that much room. 

Thus, she, Kal, and Dev were only rubbing shoulders with the entirety of the Justice League and Outsiders. Even the Teen Titans would have to come up later. Or the New Titans, as they were now calling themselves. The New Gods had gone with Harbinger to pick up someone else, though. That left her two companions to handle some of the Q-and-A session, as much as they knew. 

There had been time for a little howdy-and-shake session with the others, and she was glad that Dev, despite his reservations, was able to carry himself well with the unfamiliar heroes. She sensed that reaction to him was mixed. But that was all right with her, as long as some of it was approving. After all, she wasn't a League member. 

Wonder Woman, though, was quick to offer her hand to Kara. "This is your lover, is it not, Kara? Congratulations." 

Kara beamed at Diana. "Thanks. Very much. I think I've finally found someone I want to share my life with, Di, even if we're living in separate times." 

The Amazon princess looked at her, curious. "You mean he comes from a different era? How can you make that sort of relationship work, Kara?" 

She looked at Dev, who was carrying on conversation with Metamorpho and Black Lightning. "It isn't easy sometimes. But we've managed so far, because we want to. How are you and Steve doing?" 

A smile found its way onto Wonder Woman's face. "We have been blessed, Kara. If I had known I'd be this happy in Steve's arms...well, let us just say that, for the sake of the villains I had to fight all these years, it was a good thing for the world that I didn't find out sooner. I know Kal has been just as pleasured by his marriage to Lois. Even Hal and Oliver show more optimism than strain these days. We are finally doing things for ourselves now, and not just for the world." 

Supergirl nodded. "And it sure feels good." 

"How does...", began Diana, and then she stopped. "Never mind." 

"Go ahead and say it, Di." 

Diana said, "How does Kal feel about this?" 

Kara drew a breath. "It took some getting used to. Now he's not totally in sync with the idea, but he's getting used to it. He has to." 

The dark-haired woman nodded. "It is hard for him. You are living together, correct?" 

"Yes, we are, Di, but I'd appreciate you not letting everyone know. They may have guessed, but--" 

"I understand, and I will keep your secret." 

Kara said, "It isn't much of a secret, I suppose. And I don't mind the crew here knowing, as such. But if it gets out to the world that Supergirl's sleeping with somebody...well, I'd just as soon keep the news en famille as much as I can." 

Diana nodded. 

"By the way, how's Donna doing?" 

"She is expectant. That's why she will not be here with the Titans when they show up. I visited her and Terry a few days ago and I almost shed tears of joy, Kara. And just think, before long, the same will happen to me. Steve and I will produce a child." 

Wonder Woman noted a bit of sadness in Kara's eyes. Then it was gone, and Supergirl was giving her a big hug. "You pass this along to Donna for me," she said. "And tell her I'll try to make the baby shower, if she lets me know. Okay?" 

"Agreed, Kara," said Diana, hugging back. 

A few seconds later, they heard one of the male Leaguers singing. "I'm so young and you're so old, this my darling I've been told, oh, pleeeease, stay with meeee, Di-anna!" 

Green Arrow was behind them, his arms outflung in a miserable pop-star imitation, and Black Canary jumped him from behind, getting her arm around him in a hangman's hold. "Now what do you say, Ollie?" 

"Gurk," offered the archer. "Uh...sorry, Di. And, ulk, Pretty Bird, too." 

"That's better," she said, and lowered him to the floor. Wonder Woman chuckled. 

"Anyway, Kara, just wanted to let you know that I've met your new guy, and he's my kinda Kryptonian," said Ollie. 

"Which is not necessarily a compliment," smiled Dinah Lance Queen. "But I like him, too. Kind of a dashing sort, isn't he?" 

"Oh, yeah," said Supergirl. "We've been dashing around all over the place, lately. But thanks, you two. I'm glad you guys are on our side." 

"I think they'll all be on your side, honey," Green Arrow said, putting an arm about her shoulder. "It'll just take a few longer to recognize it, is all." 

"Hope you're right." She noticed J'onn J'onzz and the Red Tornado standing off to one side, by themselves. "Hey, be right back." 

Kara walked up to the Martian and the android, both of whom looked like they could use some company. "J'onn, Reddy," she said, holding out both her hands and smiling. "It's nice to see you both again." 

The red-hued humanoid took her left hand, shook it, and inclined his head in a short bow. "A pleasure to behold you as well, Supergirl. May you and your man both be blessed." 

J'onn shook her right hand, his green face giving her a courteous smile. She could feel the strength in his grip. After Superman and Wonder Woman, he was the third strongest Leaguer. Once, when he'd been in an addled state, he had fought her, thinking she was responsible for the murder of a friend, and she still remembered his powerful blows. "My congratulations too, Supergirl. Seems everyone's doing well for themselves in the romance department these days." 

She treaded very lightly, but sensed he wanted to say something. "Um...everyone, J'onn?" 

The Tornado said, "Not everyone, Supergirl. I have a family of sorts, with Kathy and Troya. But, as you know, marriage between a human and an android would be difficult, at best." 

"Well, it could be, if there wasn't love," said Kara, and hoped it was the right thing to say. "Besides, we've got the example of Doc Magnus and Tina. I mean, they got married a few weeks back, and even though the courts don't legally recognize it, nobody's making them separate, you know." 

"I am aware of that marriage," said the android. "But Kathy does not know what I feel for her." 

"Well," said Kara, hesitantly, "have you ever thought of...telling her?" 

J'onn said, "I am sure he has, at times, Kara, but it'll happen in its own good time. In the meantime, let me congratulate you on your new union. May your loins be fruitful." 

"Thanks, but not yet!" Kara burst out laughing. Even J'onn grinned. Then after a few moments, she said to J'onn, "Really, I'm sorry. I guess I didn't make you feel any better by showing up here with Dev, did I?" 

"My current unmated state is not your fault, Kara," said the Martian Manhunter. "It is just circumstance." 

"Well, I hope circumstance changes for you soon, J'onn," she said. "I don't know another Justice Leaguer who deserves some better luck than you, except maybe Arthur." Aquaman had a son die on him, and Mera had walked out on him for a time before their recent reconciliation. 

"Then you have not heard the news?" J'onn J'onzz glanced briefly in Aquaman's direction. "Mera is pregnant again." 

"What?" exclaimed Kara. "I mean, that's great! I'll have to go congratulate him on it. But, J'onn, even though you're a Martian, there must be some woman on Earth you can go to." 

"If there is, I haven't found her quite yet," said J'onzz. "But Detective John Jones may do better." 

"Like how? Is it all right for me to ask?" 

He crossed his arms in front of his red-banded chest. "When I worked as a police detective in Middletown, I was partnered with a policewoman named Diane Meade. We were almost an item. When Jones, my civilian self, was apparently killed, and I undertook the Diabolu quest, we separated. I learned later that she married, had two children. But now--" He hesitated. "Now, she is divorced. I am debating seeing her again, asking if she would consent to see me again. But--" 

"Do it, J'onn," said Kara, holding his green hands in her flesh-toned ones. "Do it, or I'll chase you from here to Middletown with a torch. She'll probably love seeing you again." 

"Will she love it if, in the future, I must tell her that I am a Martian?" 

"Will you know, if you don't give it a try?" 

He paused. "Good thinking. Very well, Kara, I shall attempt it. Thank you for the encouragement." 

"You just needed a little noodge, big guy." She looked at the Red Tornado. "Maybe you do, too." 

He looked at her with a hostile stance. "My decision will be my own, Supergirl. Thank you." 

"Uh," she said. "You're welcome." She stepped away, about to head towards Aquaman, who was talking with Kal and Batman. But on the way, she was intercepted by someone else. 

It was the white-haired, yellow-costumed woman from the dead universe of Earth-6. Her name was Lady Quark. "You are also Kryptonian," she said, as a fact. 

"Well, yes," said Kara, taken aback. "I am. I think your name is Quark, is that right?" 

"How do you stand it?" Lady Quark went on, grasping Kara's arm almost in desperation. "How do you stand being one of the only survivors of your world?" 

"It's, well, sometimes difficult," Supergirl said, trying to pull away but to be gentle about it. "But there was nothing else I could do except cope with it. I had no choice. Did this--" 

"I lost my world," said Lady Quark. "I lost my husband, my daughter. I am the only one left. The only one. Is there something you do to survive such a thing? Can you tell me?" 

Kara pulled her arm free. "Well, I had Kal," she said. "He was family, at least. He was such a great help. I found friends..." 

"I have no family," said the woman. "They all died. The man I married, the daughter I bore, the world we protected. All gone. All of them. Gone." 

A red-haired man in golden armor came up beside them. "Excuse me, Tashana," he said. "I need you over here for a moment." 

"How did you do it?" asked Lady Quark, again. "How did you manage?" 

Supergirl kept some distance between herself and the woman in yellow. "I managed because I had to," she repeated. "I managed because I wanted to. I found some new friends. My parents came back, long after I made a new life for myself here. Is that any help, Lady Quark?" 

"Tashana," said Alex, a bit more firmly. 

Lady Quark took a deep breath and looked down. "Forgive me." 

"That's all right," said Kara. "No apologies necessary." 

All the same, she was glad when Alex led Lady Quark away. 

She speculated on how odd it was to see him again. A Luthor from an Earth which was as dead as Lady Quark's. But he was not a villain, nor was his father, who had parented him with the Lois Lane of that world. In fact, the Luthor of Earth-Three was that planet's only super-hero, according to Kal, who had met him. 

When the white wave of anti-matter coursed across Earth-Three, the senior Luthor had barely managed to save his son, sending him across dimensional boundaries in a spinning chamber that, like it or not, had to be described as a top. But the journey through the anti-matter left Alex with a body that was quite different from the one he started out with. 

For one thing, part of his makeup was anti-matter. 

It was held in some strange symbiotic stasis with his positive-matter atoms, and did not react with the normal-matter universe about him. But the synthesis speeded up his aging process fantastically. Within days, the infant had matured into a young man, about 18 years of age. He'd landed on the Monitor's satellite and even the Monitor had been hard-pressed to supply the ravening kid with enough food to sustain the growth. 

Once matured, Alex discovered he had the power to create a gateway from positive-matter to negative-matter universes, and perhaps between other universes as well. By passing through his gate, a traveller was converted from one sort of matter to another, and vice versa when returning, so that there was no danger of a cosmos-shaking explosion. Luckily. 

That was how Supergirl and the others had gotten to the Anti-Monitor's lair in the universe of Qward, where she had almost died in combat. Instead, she and the other Supergirl had managed to destroy their foe, and she was healed by Raven of the Titans. 

Alex was still aging. The heroes had done what they could to retard this, and had been partially successful. But right now, he was less than a year old, and physically looked 40. 

The worst part of it, she thought, might be that he and Harbinger were rumored to be in love. 

"Kara." 

She looked over her shoulder and saw Dev. "There you are. What do you think of the party?" 

He shrugged. "Would have preferred our own." 

"I'm with you on that." 

"You know what the weirdest thing about this is? At least, to me?" 

"What?" asked Kara. 

He put his hands on her shoulders and leaned in to whisper in her ear. "That, even though everyone knows what we've been called up here for, Karaish, I haven't heard the name of Darkseid mentioned five times." 

She shrugged. "That's the way it is, sometimes. We have so little time to get caught up on each other, what we've been doing with our lives and all, that usually the first part of our meetings is just a big gabfest if we have enough time. It's like, we'll talk about Darkseid or whoever the villain is and what we have to do about him when we call things to order. But till then, we keep posted on our friends." 

"Okay," said Dev. "I suppose it makes sense. Though I'd rather be doing this with the Legion." 

She put her arms around him, unashamedly. "Wouldn't you rather be doing it with me?" 

"You know it, darling," he said, and kissed her without thinking about it. Before they broke their clinch, hoots and applause went up throughout the room. Kara turned beet-red. 

"Frab it, we've got to be more careful about these things," she hissed. 

He turned his head to the crowd, still holding Kara, and grinned. "We'll consider doing it again if you throw money." She punched him in the ribs. 

Halo of the Outsiders was all smiles. "Golly gee, Kara, it's so nice to see you've got yourself a guy. A nice-lookin' one, too. Do you ever double-date?" 

"Halo, please," said Katana, one hand on her charge's shoulder. 

Batman waved his arms for silence. Kara thought that he looked as though he didn't want to be here, and she could imagine why. "We've all had time to socialize, now," he said. "I believe we can bring this meeting to order. In case anyone in the room is still ignorant, we've recently learned two things. First, a large number of super-villains have vanished from our Earth. I suspect that several other counterpart Earths have been so affected. Is this confirmed?" 

Superman nodded. "The Justice Society told us as much when they came over for the wedding. Probably Earths S and X are also affected, but there's no way of knowing outside of contacting them ourselves." 

"We have enough trouble on our own planet, if this 'Darkseid' is the menace you have described him to be," said Geo-Force. "My pardon if I speak out of turn." 

Firestorm said, "Don't worry, Geo. Like Batman said earlier, for the purposes of this meeting, we're one team, not two or more. You've got a right to speak." 

"As do you, Ronnie," said Batman. "But let's confine our remarks to the situation at hand, please. Right now, we're standing pat in anticipation of Harbinger's return. But if you, Alex, or you, Lady Quark, can fill us in on anything you may have learned from her about this matter, I'd be glad to grant you the floor." 

Young Luthor was about to say something, but it seemed as though he'd stepped on someone else's cue. 

A ball of warp-force appeared in the center of the room, shoving several heroes aside, including a sprawling Kara and Dev. Within seconds, the sphere of light faded, and Harbinger was visible. Alongside her were eight other figures. 

Five of them were familiar to Kara by now: Orion, Metron, Jezebelle, Lightray, and Forager. But three newcomers had come with them. 

One of them was a man in a yellow-and-red outfit, complete with facemask and green cloak held at the throat by a chain. 

The second was a tall, powerful-looking, black-haired woman, in blue and yellow armor, carrying a staff of some sort. She stood as close to the man in red and yellow as Kara herself had been standing to Dev, for the same reason, she guessed. 

The third was a man even shorter than Danny DeVito. He had white hair and was wearing a normal shirt, pants, suspenders, and shoes, if clothing as scaled-down as his could be considered normal. He seemed a bit nervous, but he got over it. 

"Hi, League," he said. "Long time, no save-the-universe. Little touch of humor, there." 

Superman, who ended up beside Kara and Dev, said, "The man in the costume is Mr. Miracle. The lady in armor is his wife, Big Barda. The other gentleman is called Oberon. I've worked with all of them before." 

"Oh, the escape artists," said Kara. "Okay. I remember you talking about them." 

"I sure hope somebody has a field manual for super-types somewhere around here," said Dev. "When we get down to it, I want to know which guys I'm supposed to punch." 

Superman gave him a brief, bitter look. 

"I don't think you're going to have any problem distinguishing, Dev. Believe me." 

-S- 

In such times as the present, it was hard for Highfather to admit that he could do little except wait. 

Wait for the return of his son Orion, with, perhaps, his other son Scott, and the party of Celestials he had sent beside him. Hopefully with the one known as "Superman", and whoever else wore the triangular shield, as well. 

The heroes of that Earth and another besides had helped New Genesis on more than one occasion. But Darkseid had employed beings of that world in his cause, too, for a time, as that--what was it called?--Secret Society of Something. Not to mention Inter-Gang and his other operatives of that world. 

Still, whatever other worlds the Enemy involved in his machinations, he knew that it would be settled, finally, on this world and most likely on Apokolips as well. The Source had once prophesied it: the Last Battle would be fought between father and son, in Armagetto. 

How far away from that conflict were they? No way of telling. Perhaps centuries, perhaps only days. Perhaps, he admitted, less even than that. 

The young ones had to be found, before Darkseid located them. But whether or not they could be retrieved depended on how hard-pressed the Celestials were on other fronts. And, if anything, Darkseid was a consummate general. 

A chime sounded. With a start, Izaya turned to a viewscreen in his throneroom and activated it. The face of Fastbak, a warrior whose speed rivalled that of Lightray himself, firmed into view. He looked exhausted, and the landscape blurring by him gave testimony to his travelling velocity. 

"Izaya," gasped Fastbak. "Izaya. Alarm must be sounded. Outposts are under attack." 

"Attack? By whom?" Parademons? Mantis's insect-troops? Regular Apokoliptic attack squads? Kalibak's legions? 

Fastbak had to catch his breath before giving his answer, and it looked to Izaya as though there were a bit of ice on his chest, somehow. 

"By shadows," he said. 

To be continued...   



	7. Part 7:  Assault on New Genesis

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

by DarkMark 

Part 7: Assault on New Genesis 

Superman has friends in some far-off corners of the universe, and some in more accessible (if you're a Kryptonian) parts of the solar system. He doesn't get to see them all that often. In fact, some have only met him once. But he makes a great first impression. 

Some of them belong to a loose alliance even he doesn't know about. It used to be called the Friends of Superboy. Now it is known as the Friends of Superman. A few of them live on Earth. Others live in other parts of the solar system. Others live on entirely different star-systems. 

The originator and leader of the group was Kral, a native of Titan, Saturn's large moon. When Kral and Kal-El were boys, Kral was sent by the rulers of Titan, who could best be described as rather authoritarian (read: tyrants) to case out Earth for conquest, and to see if Superboy had an Achilles heel. Kral, who had powers of his own, duly learned of Superboy's Kryptonite weakness. But he also learned of the Boy of Steel's nobility and selflessness, the generosity of the Kent family towards a stranger Clark had brought home, and the realization that, despite its wars, crime, and inequities, Terran society was really--at least in some parts--quite better than Titan's. 

So Kral had fessed up to young Kal-El, and had gone back to Titan reporting that, if Superboy had a weakness, he sure couldn't detect it. He also told his superiors that if they tried invading Earth, most likely the Boy of Steel would fuse all their attack craft into a line of metal and throw it back to Titan. They grumbled, but finally decided to investigate weaker planets. 

At the same time, Kral began to implement a plan to reform the Titanians. He synthesized a form of radiant mineral which would react upon the minds of his world's inhabitants and push their motivations from power-hunger to altruism. It would take time, but it would happen within his lifetime. After synthesizing enough chunks of the stuff, Kral seeded the rings of the great motherworld with them. Sure enough, the behavior of the Titanians began to change for the better. Luckily for him, none of the holdouts from altruism had learned what he had done. 

Some few persons on his world were even developing low-level telepathic powers. But he judged that it would be generations before this became a widespread thing. 

Right now, Kral was in his study. For all an observer knew, he was doing nothing. But one of the low-level psychics might have picked up on the telepathic message he was receiving. 

It was coming all the way from Earth. 

Garokk, a mystic, was the son of two homo magi and had first met Clark Kent when the latter was a Superbaby and Garokk, as Gary, was an innocently magic-working toddler. The two encountered each other much later, as teenagers, then their paths never seemed to cross again. But Garokk was one of the covert mystic guardians of the Earth, and had been brought into the orbit of the Friends of Superboy by Kral, who found out about him from long-distance scanning. 

I've been contacted by Doctor Mist,> Garokk sent. Azmo Coven confirms. Something big and dark is manifesting out there.> 

Big and dark as the recent disturbance?> asked Kral. We were dealing with people from five different Titans and half a hundred time periods for awhile there.> 

They called it the Crisis down here,> said Garokk. We thought Superman and the rest of his abovegrounders took care of things a few months back. But there are apparently aftershocks. Of what sort, we're really not sure.> 

Describe, please,> sent Kral. 

Garokk, an investment banker in his civilian identity, tried to explain. Coven is better at explaining these things than I am. All we can verify is a great malignance. Possibly not native to our universe. Neither Mist nor Fate seems to think it's on Earth just yet. Maybe not even near you. But put that together with the vanishing villains thing, and it's likely we're not out of the cauldron on this one yet.> 

Kral reflected. Earth had many times the number of super-villains as super-heroes, though on his world their old values might have made them switch labels on the two camps of superbeings. Where he was, he could afford to keep out of the play of powerful beings clashing with one another. The Crisis on Titan had kept him busy enough. 

But if Titan was safe from that, now, and a threat came from another direction, he might have to reconsider. 

I'm going to notify the Friends of this,> Kral decided. If necessary, can we arrange a rezendevous with you on Earth?> 

Let me know beforehand, and I'll try,> sent Garokk. Keep me posted.> 

You as well. Good health, brother,> said Kral, and broke contact. 

The man of Titan moved to another section of the room, touched a hidden contact, and watched part of the wall open to reveal a round communicator disk, hung upon a flat surface just behind it. 

Kral took it and activated it. 

With little delay, contact was made with several other heroes throughout the universe. Dyno-Man, Luma Lynai, Marvel Maid, Marvel Man, Power Man, Mighty Man, Ron-Avon, and several others. All of them had made common cause with Superman, Superboy, or Supergirl in times past. Now all of them might have to act in concert for the first time. 

It would, thought Kral, be of great help if they knew what they were up against. 

"This is Kral," he sent through the communicator. "The Friends are needed." 

-S- 

Izaya had satellites in position that beamed back images of the chaos on New Genesis, and of its attackers. Shadows. The weirdly distorted shadows of humanoids. They were descending like locusts upon the Celestials. Upon men, women, and children. Those whom they touched screamed and fell. Dead, or unconscious? Impossible to tell, at this juncture. 

On the Field of Heroes, the burial ground for those fallen in the previous Apokolips-New Genesis War, the caretaker, Brakon, had been showing a woman and her son the memorial to one of Izaya's commanders. "One of our distant relations, on my mother's side," the Celestial woman said, holding her son's hand. He had a small Mother Box held to his ear with his free hand. 

Brakon had been putting on his tour-guide's smile for the pair, but what he beheld coming out of the sky froze it immediately on his face. He couldn't tell what they were, exactly--para-demons? Warriors with gravity-packs?--but it didn't matter. If you had seen action, and Brakon had, you knew what an enemy strike looked like. 

"Get down!" he shouted, already shoving the woman and the boy to the sward. He covered them with his body. The boy was shouting; his foot was twisted in the fall. The woman cried out in alarm. Brakon looked up, activating the power-baton that was his primary defense-weapon. 

The things were coming on too fast for that. Like giant man-shaped cutouts of blackness. They were coming for them, reaching out... He clenched his teeth and waved the baton at them, sputtering force from its end. 

They still got him. The woman, and the boy as well. He had time enough to register the coldness in their touch. Then he was unable to think of much of anything. 

That scene was repeated, in various ways, for thousands of other New Genesites. 

And Izaya saw more of it than he really cared to. 

Transport and communications were breaking down. It was hard to tell how many shadows were attacking, or what parts of the globe might be spared their deadly touch. But action had to be taken now. 

And, with Orion and his strike force gone, there was only one who could take it. 

Highfather sent a message to his major domo: "Orion and his group must return now. With or without the two he seeks." The new god in charge of communications dispatched the message. 

Then the robed ruler of New Genesis approached the Source, put one hand flat against its cool, polished-granite surface, and sought to draw what power he could from it. His other hand he raised to the ceiling, all five fingers splayed. 

From those fingers shot five pellets of energy, leaping upward, penetrating the ceiling without leaving a mark. In their wake came five more, and five more again, and so on. The series seemed as limitless as a river's flow. But those who knew Izaya knew that, even with his energy, there were only so many Alpha Bullets he could generate. 

These were the natural counterforce to Darkseid's Omega Effect, and, like that of the lord of Apokolips, Izaya's power was awesome to behold. 

The bullets of energy streaked across the planet at the speed of light, each a shadow-seeking missle. Within a fraction of a second, the first shadows were struck by them--and negated. Where a murdering shade had been, there was nothing to behold. The beleaguered new gods looked up in dumbstruck gratitude, wherever they were, and wondered who and how they were reprieved. 

Missle after missle struck. The shadowers of Qward realized their peril, tried to escape, but were powerless to avoid the Alpha Bullets. In a radius that spread ever further over the Celestials' world, the power of Highfather delivered his people. 

But the strain was telling upon the ruler of the new gods. 

Izaya struggled to keep his sweat-slicked palm upon the surface of the Source. He could not tell whether or not he drew power from it, but he wasn't willing to break contact to find out. His good right hand remained upraised, more pulses of light breaking forth from its fingertips. His breath grew ragged, his heartbeat labored. But he would not flag in his efforts. 

Now, as much as ever before in his life, Highfather stood in the breach, and defended his people. 

Among the shadows, a signal was relayed: "Pull back!" The troops of reinforcements among the dark legions retreated from their positions, and stayed at a safe distance from New Genesis. They awaited their commander's orders. 

The old man in the robe sent forth another stream of bullets, and another, and another. How many more would it take? How much more effort would be required? 

It did not seem as though it could end. But it did. The last shadow was dissolved by light. The last invader was repelled. 

At least, Izaya thought, as his next five bullets found no targets, the last of the shadows. But this was, undoubtedly, just a softening-up tactic. 

"Farspeaker," he said, into a wristband, "Darkseid will attack soon. Prepare the defenses." 

"It will be done," said the other, through a small speaker in Izaya's wristband. "But, Highfather, what of you?" 

"Find Orion," said Izaya, and sagged to the floor. 

That was where the attendants found him, a few seconds later. 

-S- 

The Guardians of the Universe were in session. 

Indeed, they rarely stopped being in session these days. The horrors of the Crisis had been felt by the world of Oa, as well, and several Guardians had died in the attack of the Anti-Monitor. Now, they seemed even more ancient than they had several months before. Their blue skins appeared paler. Yet, those who remained on the Great Dais still possessed great power, and still commanded those of lesser but more widespread power, the Green Lantern Corps. 

Now, the question was not how to unleash the power of the Corps and their mighty rings. It was where, when, and to what extent. 

"The danger of annihilation has passed," said First Speaker, stating what all of them knew. "The danger of conquest and tyranny has apparently risen anew. Native to our universe, but apparently spreading into other dimensions, as well." 

"And in those realms, as the Speaker is aware, we have no jurisdiction," said Third Speaker, at his right. "In those worlds, we would be outlaws." 

"Not outlaws, but vigilantes," amended Fifth Speaker. "Our Lanterns must often operate without formal designation by planetary governments as law officers. Yet, few refuse them their aid." 

First Speaker swivelled his head from one to the other. "Let us not haggle without end over finer points of debate. This is a council of war, not a determination of price for goods in a market. Number Four, present your data." 

The Fourth Speaker, with little obvious emotion, said, "Most of the sectors policed by the Corps have experienced upheaval. The Corpsmen are busy attending to matters at home, but a number of their native enemies are apparently engaging in attacks upon them. So far, the attacks have been repelled. But so many at the same time, over such a great span of universal space, bespeak coordinated effort." 

"And that, as we know, stemming from the world called Apokolips," stated Second Speaker. 

"But latest intelligence seems to indicate that Apokolips may have harnessed the power of Qward," said Seventh Speaker. "This may prove a force even threatening to ourselves. Steps, inarguably, must be taken now." 

None of them had to be reminded of the episode, not too far in the past, in which Qward had created an army of Black Lanterns and challenged the Corps themselves. But much more recently than that had come the Anti-Monitor's attack on Oa itself. That had left the Guardians in a stasis beam, which several Corps members had barely managed to penetrate, at the cost of several of their lives. There was an ancillary battle with several nemeses of the Green Lantern of Earth, Hal Jordan, which had resulted in more deaths, including that of Tomar-Re, one of the most honored Lanterns of all. Hal Jordan had regained his place in the Corps during that battle, but at what a price. 

Now several Lanterns were living communally on Earth...Jordan himself, John Stewart, who had been his replacement, Kilowog, Katma Tui, Salaak, Ch'p, and Arisia. Too much for a single sector. But Earth had been a great trouble spot before, and the Guardians were seeking out replacements to cover the sectors that the others had come from. 

"We shall contact the Corps members through a blanket broadcast and explain the situation," said First Speaker. "Most will remain on their homeworlds, and await further orders. The Corps contingent on Earth will be our spearhead. The many heroes upon their world can be counted upon to aid them." 

"But teams of Corpsmen could do what single Lanterns could not," pointed out Third Speaker. "Especially when their own natural powers outweigh those of other worldsmen." 

"I propose the Green Lantern of Daxam lead a corps of five Lanterns against emergencies in star-sectors far from Terra," suggested Seventh Speaker. "His powers, once out of the range of his red sun, will greatly augment that of his Power Ring." 

"Proposition noted," said First Speaker. "And there is one heroic team attached to a Green Lantern not of Earth, for we placed one on that world at Hal Jordan's suggestion. We will contact the Green Lantern of Thronn. The Honor Team shall aid in the struggle." 

"Even if it leads to Apokolips?" asked Third Speaker. 

There was a micron of hesitation in the First Speaker's response, but no more than that. 

"Even there," he said. 

-S- 

Orion had the floor in the Justice League Satellite, and his aura of command rivalled even that of Superman. 

"The Crisis was not actively participated in by my father," said the new god in the grey helmet. "He is, however, apt to capitalize on that which will turn the balance of power in his favor. You have spoken of a mass vanishment of contrabeings from your worlds." 

"Super-villains," murmured Kara. 

Orion looked at her briefly and went on. Big Barda ventured her a smile, and Kara was glad that not all the New Gods seemed to have steel rectums. 

"Many of you were involved in the recent conflicts against Darkseid," Orion continued. "At one point, he created what he called a 'Secret Society' of contrabeings, 'super-villains', to use your words, as potential tools for his aims. They broke from his control, but now he may have a far larger, deadlier contingent under his command. And if Darkseid has a talent for anything...it is generalship." 

Superman nodded. "Simultaneously, when we first learned of him on Earth, he was coordinating operations against me, a group of kids from your world called the Forever People, Mr. Miracle and Barda here, and your own group, Orion. Most of our opponents are hard-pressed to even get a one-pronged attack coordinated." 

"But some of them do pretty well with that one-pronged attack," said Supergirl. "And the Anti-Monitor outpointed even Darkseid." 

"In power," rumbled Metron. "But not, perhaps, in ingenuity or evil." 

Lady Quark seethed. "If destroying entire universes is not evil enough, the word needs to be redefined. The thing murdered my husband and daughter." 

No one could think of anything to say to that, so Orion took up his exposition again. 

"The Source indicated that two persons bearing your shield--" He gestured to Kal and Kara. "--will be the keys to our aid in this matter. But, given that your adversaries will probably also be in play, I submit that the rest of you, and all those like you on Earth, will probably be needed." 

"It's a bummer we have to do this," said Oberon, perching on the back of a chair. "I know you guys have been busy with this Crisis thing and all, and we slacked out on that. Mea culpa." 

Mr. Miracle looked tired. "If anybody had needed some last-minute escapes, we'd have been there." 

"Oh, really?" asked Green Lantern. "Think you could have gotten one for the Flash?" 

Miracle got an unkind look on his masked face and started to step forward. Big Barda grasped his arm, gently. Dev-Em stepped between the escape artist and Hal Jordan. "There's no need for that, people," said Dev, more kindly than most might have expected. "We need a coordinated effort here, not sniping." 

J'onn J'onzz spoke up. "I believe Hal's comment was uncalled for. However, the Flash, who is no longer with us, was one of his greatest friends. If apologies could be made, perhaps we could go on." 

Green Lantern stuck out his hand, Miracle grasped it firmly, and they shook. "Sorry about the joke," said Scott Free. "I suppose, given the scope of what we've been through, nothing much sounds funny at present." 

"That's all the more reason for making jokes," said Hal. "We need some relief. And I apologize for steaming off at you. I...we all still miss Barry." 

Green Arrow lay a hand on the Lantern's shoulder. "We all miss him, big buddy. Just like we're all glad to have you back." 

Jezebelle, who had been hesitant to speak, said, "We of the Celestials know the pain of a friend's passing, as well. Lonar, among others...and Source knows what happened to Beautiful Dreamer and her unit. We offer our condolences, as well, for we too knew the Flash." 

"True," said Lightray. "When Orion was turned into a Promethean Giant, the red one went where no New God could go, and cured him." 

Metamorpho, who was sitting on a ledge near the ceiling with his head in his hands, said, "Promethean Giants, huh? That some Japanese expansion club? What's their record?" 

"Rex, please," hissed Element Girl, below him. 

Batman cut in, verbally, to bring the extraneous talk to a halt. "All right, Orion. We know something of the situation now. Is there any more hard data to go on? And if not, what's your game plan?" 

The son of Darkseid looked at Batman with some annoyance at his tone. For a split-second, some who knew him well began to see the demon's face surging below the mask of normality Mother Box had created for him. But it passed, with a moment of self-control. Batman had not backed up an inch. 

"Hey, Orion," said Bug, trying to calm the waters. "Want me to score you some wine from the pantry, if they've got--" 

"Bug, silence," said Orion, softly. Then, he said, "Until we engage the enemy, Batman, there will be precious little 'hard data' at hand. What I propose is that your Superman and Supergirl return with us to New Genesis, that we maintain lines of communication here, and that your League and the others stand ready for action. When we determine the nature of the threat--" 

"'Nature of the threat'?" repeated Firestorm. "Bullspit! Somebody's copped all the villains on probably five Earths. We find 'em and we bash 'em." 

"--When we determine it," said Orion, with emphasis, "we will direct you to it. Agreed?" 

"Agreed, as far as that goes," said Batman. "On behalf of my team, at least." 

Wonder Woman said, "We have no formal leader at the JLA, but I think we can put it to a voice vote. All in favor of the plan as it stands, say 'Aye.'" 

"AYE!" came a number of voices. Some, Kara noted, probably didn't even belong to members. 

"Any opposed, say 'Nay,'" continued Diana. Nothing was heard. "Ayes have it." 

Big Barda spoke up. "I am not so certain this is the wisest course, Orion. If Darkseid really commands such an army, we might be better off going in with a combined force of all those we have assembled here." 

Orion turned to her. "Perhaps, Barda. But this phase of the mission must be reconnaisance...spying, if you will. We will learn where Darkseid has marshalled his forces, then we will strike." 

Dev-Em stepped up to the new god. "In that case, O, I'm going with you. I'd be doing it anyway, if Kara and Kal were headed that way. But I can be of more use than just as one more warm Kryptonian body. I'm a spy." He smiled. 

Orion looked at him. "Are you really, now? Have you ever been to Apokolips?" 

"No," allowed Dev. "But I'm a quick study. And I have helped fight Darkseid." 

The New Gods snapped to attention. Even Metron turned his head in Dev's direction. "You have?" Orion asked. "Where? When? Under what circumstance?" 

Kara stepped up beside Dev and put her hand on his shoulder, facing Orion with a placating smile. "It was on a case with Kal. Remember, Orion, your father can fight on a lot of battlefields at once." 

"That he can," acknowledged Orion. Kal flicked a relieved look in his cousin's direction, and she caught it. True, Kal had been along on that battle. But he had been a teenager then, and the battle would not take place until a thousand more years had passed. He did not remember Darkseid when he returned to the 20th Century, thanks to Kara's post-hypnotic suggestion about learning things that would pertain to his future life, until shortly after he met the villain alongside the Forever People. 

Both of them still had the same underlying and unsettling thought: if Darkseid is going to survive into the 30th Century, what can we do against him here? 

But since that thought was of no practical use to them at present, they filed it away for the present. 

Dev said, "I can be of help in this one, Orion, just as Kal and Kara will be. Okay by you?" 

Orion looked at Superman and Supergirl. 

"I've worked with him before," said Superman. "He's...efficient." 

Kara said, "The last time we had a job together, he saved a couple of planets. I went with him on a spying job, too. He's good." 

"You flatter me no end," said Dev, ruffling her hair and getting his wrist grabbed. 

"He will come with us, then," said Orion. "And then--" 

There was a pinging noise from Orion's helmet. He stopped instantly, and listened. 

"It's his Mother Box," opined Oberon, who had been around Scott, Barda, and other Celestials long enough to know what the things sounded like. 

The pinging lasted less than five seconds. Afterward, the man in red looked impossibly grim. "We must go now. Highfather is endangered. New Genesis is under attack." 

Another voice spoke up. "I will go with you." 

The three Kryptonians and Orion looked at the woman who spoke. It was Harbinger. "You will need me to maintain communications," she said. "I can telepath to any of my split-selves throughout the multiverse. We can keep the others posted in that manner. Besides...Darkseid, I fear, has Pariah." 

"Then I will go too," said Lady Quark, stepping forward. 

"No, Tashana," said Harbinger. "The smaller the force, the better, in this instance, if we don't want to be observed. Please. For me, stay here." 

The woman from the sixth Earth closed her eyes and sighed. "All right, Lyla. But bring him back. I have all too few friends left to me." 

"We have no more time," said Orion. "Step back, all the rest of you." 

The members of Orion's contingent, the Kryptonians, and Harbinger stayed close together as the other heroes withdrew a bit to give them room. Orion placed one hand on his helmet, and stretched forth the other. 

An explosive sound was heard. 

A great circle of light and energy appeared in the air. It was hard to distinguish what could be seen within it. 

Orion reached for his flying apparatus, stepped into it, activated it, and shot through the Boom Tube. He was followed in short order by Barda, Mr. Miracle, Oberon, Jezebelle, Forager, Metron, Lightray, Harbinger, and Superman. Supergirl and Dev were the last to enter. They linked hands. He looked at her. 

"Ever been through one of these before?" he asked. 

"Never," she said. 

They leaped in an instant before it phased out. 

The others were a bit awed, even those who had seen such a device before. "Bats," said Black Lightning, "if that's what they use to get where they're goin' where those guys come from, all of a sudden the subway looks a helluva lot better." 

Batman's attention was drawn to something he saw through one of the quartz windows of the satellite. The Creeper turned to Plastic Man, who was sitting beside him on one of the sofas around the rim. "Hate to point out the obvious, Plas, but that guy took a couple of our biggest guns with him. Not like the rest of us are exactly pencil-neck geeks, but what if that army of scumbags decides to hit us while they're gone? And how's the Blue Angel going to tell us what's going on if she's gone, too?" 

Plas looked at Batman, and elongated his head to look through the same window the latter was gazing into. The Elongated Man did the same, and the sight of it almost made some of the others laugh. 

They stopped when they saw two groups of heroes, each led by a Harbinger-self, each protected from the conditions of space by separate magical auras, approaching the satellite from different directions. One of them was spearheaded by Doctor Fate. The other was led by Captain Marvel himself. The others, those who were close enough to be distinguished, looked familiar. 

"Well," said the Creeper, a trifle sourly, "guess that answers that question." 

To be continued...   



	8. Part 8:  A Supergirl In Supertown

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

by DarkMark 

Part 8: A Supergirl In Supertown 

By the time Superman, Supergirl, Dev, and Orion's band emerged from the other end of the Boom Tube, New Genesis was being strafed by Para-Demons. 

These creatures, apparently limitless in number, have wings, are very strong, resemble stone gargoyles, and can wreak great devastation, especially when armed. Darkseid was their armorer, and they were the second wave of his shock troops. 

Superman was shocked, indeed. The capital city of New Genesis, the place he had first known as Supertown, had been the first place on that planet he had visited. When he had met the Forever People, they described it as a place of wonders where even he, a powerful Kryptonian, might fit in without having to hide his true nature. He had finally gotten to see it with his own eyes, to tread it with his own feet, and it seemed to be part ancient Greece, part the 30th Century of the Legion, and part Utopia. 

Now, it was being blackened and ravaged. None of them could tell how much had been done by the Para-Demons and how much by those shadows which had attacked that world before. Warriors of New Genesis, jetpacks on their back and blasters in their hands, were already counterattacking. They seemed swamped. 

One of the beings who was swamping them was on the ground, having smashed a man into the dirt, advancing on a woman and her child. The mother was cradling her son against her chest, trying to interpose her body between him and the winged, stony ravager that advanced on them. 

She didn't have to bother. 

The Para-Demon had to halt when he felt his right wingtip grabbed by a force from above that was multiples of times stronger than himself. Stronger, indeed, than just about any force he had ever encountered. 

The weird part about it, to him, was when he turned his head and saw that he was being held back by one hand of a flying girl. She didn't look at all amused. 

That was the last thing he registered before four tanned female knuckles hit him in the face and brought him oblivion. 

Supergirl stopped long enough to hustle the woman and boy into a shelter building she had found nearby. At super-speed, that didn't take long. She couldn't afford to. Thousands of the monsters were besetting this world. 

She hurled herself into the strange skies of New Genesis, both her arms stretched out perpendicular to her body, and screamed in rage. The group of Para-Demons she was headed for didn't have time to run for it. They barely had time to see she was there. 

Her powerful, blue-clad, Kryptonian arms acted like twin plows, knocking the winged beasts out of the air. They fell like shot birds, hailing down on the landscape. The New Genesis troops had a chance to gape at the blue streak that was mowing down the enemy. 

Superman had smashed his great hands together in an impact that almost deafened the New Gods who hovered too near to him. The shockwave from the crash buffeted a flying legion of Para-Demons. That was all the time Superman needed to separate them physically from the New Genesis flight troops they were attacking, and to tap them into dreamland. 

Orion triggered the accelerator on his jet-system. "Did we bring the Superman to our world to let him fight Darkseid's scum alone?" he yelled. "For Highfather, attack!" 

Those who came with him needed little urging. The New Gods joined the battle for their planet. 

Supergirl, ranging over hundreds of miles in seconds, had heard Orion's cry before she got out of normal earshot and glanced backward, activating her telescopic vision. The son of Darkseid was using his "astro-force" power against the Para-Demons, to deadly intent. He blasted them out of the skies and didn't seem to be concerned about letting the enemy survive. Most of those who felt his power hit the ground and would never move again. 

It chilled her. But what chilled her more is that, three times recently, she had pretty much done the same. 

Dev-Em had grabbed one of the Paras by the ankles and was using him as a more-or-less-human flail, knocking demons out of the skies by the dozens. He finally threw his "weapon" away and hurled himself bodily into a bunch of them, throwing them out like toothpicks catapulted from an uncovered blender. Luckily, she could tell with her super-hearing that the Paras he hit were just kayoed, not killed. 

The other New Genesites didn't have her powers, and couldn't afford her scruples. 

Jezebelle's "fiery eyes" were downing a number of the winged attackers, and Bug was doing his best to aid her, but they were mobbed by a pack of the Paras. Luckily, Lightray rocketed into the winged beings, dispersed them with the impact, and flew off, towing Bug and Jezebelle by an arm each. Metron subdued those who remained conscious with a rayburst from his chair. 

Big Barda was almost as warlike as Orion. Lacking ray-powers, she made do with what she had: her strength. Propelled by flying discs that were attached to her feet, she honed in on a trio of Paras that were threatening some New Genesites in the street. The middle Para she smashed in on from the back and knocked him over his intended prey. She turned to the one on her right, blocked a blow from him, and smashed him full in the face, propelling him backward and rendering him senseless. 

The one on the left grabbed her from behind, around the throat. His arms were long, much longer than the reach of Barda's arms. It mattered little. Tightening her throat muscles against the grip, the warrior-woman slammed her legs against his thorax. The Para loosened his grip and fell back in pain. 

Barda's hand whickered out in a flat-handed strike and 

(Great Rao, no) 

impacted hard against the Para-Demon's neck. Kara could tell from the angle at which the head and neck rebounded from the blow that its neck was broken. It fell to the ground and, after a few twitches, lay still. 

Barda was helping the attack victims to safety. 

Did she have the right to judge? Barda was of this realm. She did not condemn human soldiers who killed enemies in defense, or cops who shot down crooks when they had to. 

Still...she was glad for her powers. Very glad. They gave her options, and one of those options was not having to kill. 

In most cases, she reminded herself. 

Up ahead were more Paras, menacing another city. She grinned. Pushing herself forward like a bullet, she had to admit that part of this stuff would always be fun. 

-S- 

Pariah was in a zone of blackness and was glad that they'd at least provided him with a chair on which to sit down. 

His captor called himself Darkseid. Lyla probably knew about him. She'd helped the Monitor compile that catalog of superbeings and remembered a lot of them by heart. But he didn't know a damnable thing about the man before he met him. If, of course, one could call him a "man". 

In a way, he was more frightening than the Anti-Monitor. Certainly not as powerful. But more intelligent, apparently, more focused, and more consciously evil. A laser beam as opposed to a juggernaut. 

Yet, Darkseid couldn't do anything to physically damage him. The Feedback Effect that surrounded Pariah prohibited it. But he had used his power (did he call it the "Omega Effect"? Pariah wasn't certain) to cut Pariah off from any search-probes from his long-distant friends. Then Pariah had been taken in hand by Darkseid's guards, and the man himself had interrogated him. 

The first question was simple enough: "Who are you and why are you here?" 

His answer was equally straightforward: "I am Kell, called Pariah. I am drawn to sources of great evil and impending disaster which, in this case, I presume to be you." 

But Darkseid had kept up the questioning, and Pariah wasn't certain at this point that it had all been verbal. He had made his unwilling guest dredge up all the memories, all the terrors, and serve up a decent portion of them for the Lord of Apokolips's consumption. 

He remembered... 

How many years ago? Impossible to estimate. He didn't age anymore. 

But it began on an Earth that was now as dead as so many Earths were, so many he'd seen destroyed, so many he thought he'd destroyed himself... 

On that world, that Earth, his name had been Kell. Kell, the Scientist Supreme. The brilliant pioneer of new energy-sources, new means of warp-travel, conqueror of disease, tireless researcher into the nature of Matter and Anti-Matter. And thanks to his ownership of many patented processes, he was the wealthiest man on the planet. 

But his controlling passion was cosmology, the nature of the very universe itself. And of how it came to be. If indeed, it had come to be, and not always somehow been there. Lacking direct observation of the process, all they had was theory, educated guesses. 

Kell had not believed in God. Indeed, he was unwilling to ascribe greater powers of intellect than his to any being. He suspected the universe of being nothing more than a self-actuated machine, of his world and those which were known to be life-bearing as only recipients of fortune in a great cosmic chance-game. 

But, of course, one didn't know that. 

And one wanted to know. 

There was a means of doing so. His intellect had found a means of capturing lightwaves long since past from the events they depicted, and revealing them on a monitor. The problem was that a great deal of energy was needed to do this, possibly dangerous to the observer. 

And Daneeta, his lover, had reminded Kell of the ancient legend common to many peoples: that anyone who attempted to learn the secret of the universe's origin would destroy himself, and possibly the world upon which he stood. 

He scoffed. 

But just in case the legend described a real scientific hazard, and to guard himself against the real danger of energy-poisoning, Kell had found a way to seal himself within a cube-field of shielded anti-matter. The contramatter itself was held sandwiched between two layers of protective energy, but it would prevent any dangerous emanations from reaching him while he used the monitor system. 

Thus, he had made love to Daneeta for luck the night before, noted her curious unresponsiveness, and then gone the next day to his laboratory, placed himself within the anti-matter cube, triggered his machine, and settled back to watch the show. 

The holoscreen had spiralled backwards, compacting events that took eons into mere seconds. Galaxies whirled backwards to their origin point. The blackness of space, true...but...something more... 

Outside the cube, forces gathered, but he ignored them. Daneeta had burst into the lab in a protective suit, but he told her to remain where she was, or the energy would penetrate even that and destroy her. 

She didn't listen. She tried to get to the monitor and destroy it. 

Within three steps, she was fried in her suit. 

He gaped in horror. 

But his attention, damn it to perdition and beyond, was still drawn to the monitor. The damnable monitor. 

And upon it was the galaxies spiralling backwards into their source. Something on the edge of visuality. But... 

He adjusted the screen only a tiny bit, but he didn't really have to. The source was firming into visibility...perhaps the last time it had ever been visual, perhaps not. 

The Hand. 

The gigantic, colossal, beyond-belief Hand. 

It was releasing galaxies into the void like a farmer making a broadcast of seeds into a plowed field. 

There was more than a Hand. There was the wrist, and the arm it was connected to, yes, he saw all that as if a camera was panning up on an actor, and he saw... 

He SAW... 

It was impossible to retain all that consciously. Even today, his memory would not retain what he had Seen. 

In that moment, all his notions of atheism, all his belief that nothing was superior to Man (to Kell), was dashed beyond repair. 

In the next moment, his world was eaten by whiteness. 

The legends were true. The legends were true... 

He heard somebody screaming, cursing, and above all, weeping. Weeping as though the tears would never stop. 

After awhile, he realized it was himself. 

From that day forward he had been thrust unwillingly into many, many universes, all at the point of their greatest danger, all of them before they were destroyed by a wall of whiteness. All of this, he attributed to his great sin. The sin of arrogance. 

The sin that had cost him his woman, his world, his universe and so many others besides. All but his own life, and he found himself unable to take that. 

The sin that had made him a Pariah. 

This year, it had all changed. He had managed to save Lady Quark by taking her with him when her universe was destroyed. He was not sure if she was grateful for that, and she did not seem to be sure, either. He had also learned that most of the universes which had perished were destroyed by the Anti-Monitor, the anti-matter multiverse's counterpart of the Monitor, who used Pariah as an unwitting point man. 

Finally, during what the inhabitants of the five linked Earths called the Crisis on Infinite Earths, the Anti-Monitor had been destroyed by two Supergirls and several other heroes. His curse of being drawn to perishing universes had been broken. Instead, it had been transmuted into a power which drew him to great danger and evil. Sometimes he could resist it, since it had been weakened. Other times, when the evil was too great, he could not. 

This was one of those times. 

Darkseid had learned all this. He had pronounced his judgment in one word: "Interesting." Then he had left, placing Pariah in this zone of blackness. 

That had been some time ago. Pariah wondered how long it had been. Probably only hours, but it seemed like days. He also wondered what would occur next. 

In that, he did not have long to wait. The blackness dimmed, but the chamber beyond was dark and its contents hard to see. Had he been moved, or had the room been altered? 

There was another present. A dessicated-looking man in a robe, whose eyes held something unholy and joyful. He was at the controls of a strange machine. 

"Who are you?" asked Pariah, in a dull voice. 

The man looked delighted. 

"My name is Desaad," he said. "And now, we're going to play." 

-S- 

Even despite the grimness of the situation, the heroes of Earth-One were glad to see their old other-Earth friends. 

Doctor Fate had brought the JSA contingent directly from Earth-Two, since he wanted to bring them en masse rather than using the Transporter Cube to admit them one at a time to the satellite. Captain Marvel had led his Marvel Family and Squadron of Justice to the Rock of Eternity, made the proper angle, and entered the Earth-One universe without problem. 

The big hassle would be fitting every one of the heroes into the JLA satellite, which, though sizable, only had so much space. So the twin Harbingers who had caught up with the Earth-Two and Earth-S contingents on the way merged, and offered the use of the Monitor's satellite. Elongated Man, Black Canary, and Green Arrow remained behind on the Justice League craft as requested. The others went along, with some help from Green Lantern of Earth-One and the magically-powered heroes of the Justice Society and Squadron. 

The group floated or flew through a warp which landed them within the golden interior of the Monitor's spacecraft. Wonder Woman noted the sadness on Harbinger's face as they touched its deck, and realized its reason. Her mentor, the Monitor, had died in this very place, at Lyla's own hand. 

The newest arrival to the group, Isis, marvelled at the design and the array of strange devices within. "Even in my time, I've never seen anything to rival this," she proclaimed, touching a machine. "Pray tell me, what does it do?" 

"It's a food synthesizer," explained Harbinger. "But we've much to attend to besides that." 

"Quite a bit roomier than the last time," remarked Firestorm. He remembered how, more than a month ago, Harbinger and Alex Luthor had rounded up all the heroes and villains from five Earths, including many from other time-epochs, and crammed them in here more closely than passengers in coach-class of a Pan Am flight. Now, it was positively sparse by comparison. 

The two Wonder Women greeted each other with a hug, and Fury, who had insisted on coming along, had one reserved especially for the Amazon of Earth-Two. "Auntie Diana," she gushed, "it's great having you back, even if we have to get into another darned battle to do it." 

"The same for you, Lyta," said Diana, hugging her back. "How are you and Syl Pemberton getting along." 

"Oh, they're getting along very well," said the Earth-Two Wonder Woman, with a notable lack of enthusiasm. "But, like Lyla said, we've got a lot more to talk about than that." 

Harbinger took the floor, standing to face the three-Earth heroes. "All of us have been drawn by a great horror perceived across dimensions. From what we've learned since then, it is based in this universe and its author has a name: Darkseid." 

"We've never tried our hand against him," said Captain Marvel. "Should be interesting." 

Batman regarded him with suspicion. "Don't be too eager, Billy. Even Superman wouldn't go against the Big D without making sure Lois's inheritance would go through cleanly, just in case." 

Power Girl sighed, holding herself. "We've just been through one of the toughest fights I've ever fought. Three Krypts, one Hatorian, and Mars to boot. Now we're up against Gary Granite-Face himself. I should've taken my vacation time." She looked around. "When are Kara and company supposed to get back?" 

"Don't know," said Green Lantern of Earth-One, looking up from conferring with Alan Scott. "They left for New Genesis. Said it was under attack." 

"Then what are we doing here?" said the girl from Krypton-2, stepping forward with both fists clenched. 

"In case you haven't heard, baby, every super-villain in creation has vanished and is probably being held in escrow," said the Creeper, acidly. "We're betting Big D is behind it. They'll be turning up somewhere, and when they do, we'll need to be on top of it." 

"But would they strike here?" asked Looker. "On a world so well-defended by heroes? What about another part of the galaxy, for Pete's sake, or even another universe?" 

Batman said, "Looker has a point. Harbinger, I'd like to suggest that we divide ourselves into teams and some of us be sent to the four other Earths. Unless Darkseid is marshalling all his forces for a strike at New Genesis, the army of villains should be surfacing on some or all of them before long." 

"Point well taken, friend Batman," said Ibis the Invincible. "I would be loath to entrust our world to the Lieutenant Marvels alone, even though they are capable. What of it, Harbinger?" 

"Very well," she replied. "But there are other heroes to gather besides yourselves. Many yet remain on Earths One and Two, and I have not yet been to Earths Four and X. As for--" 

The Justice League signaller went off simultaneously in the uniforms of those who were JLA members, cutting off Harbinger's words. Batman held up a hand for silence as he took a small communicator out of his belt. "Batman acknowledging," he said. 

The voice of Green Arrow came from the tiny speaker. "Bats, it's me. Uncle Sam wants you. All of you that you can spare, like. Earth-X is under attack by a buncha bad guys. He got to us through the old crystal ball like we used for the JSA, the first time, and he did not look good." 

"Any more info?" rapped Batman, conscious of the heroes gathering about him to hear better. 

"We got cut off," said Ollie Queen. "I'm about to use the Transmitter Cube to go there. That's all I've got." 

"Don't, GA," said Batman. "If they're hitting Earth-X, they'll be hitting other Earths soon. We need you and the others to stay put, help coordinate things, and keep watch." 

"Awww, Bats," groused Green Arrow. "Just when it gets interesting, you put me in the dugout. Hell, all right." 

"It'll be more interesting than that pretty soon, Arrow," said Batman. "More, probably, than we can take. Out." He snapped off the communicator and looked at the others. "Who's going with me?" 

-S- 

By her own count, Kara had racked up over a hundred Para-Demons. There were better than a thousand of the winged buggers, but she and her party were doing a decent job on clearing New Genesis's skies. 

Still, she thought as she put the boot to the backside of one of the attackers and plowed him into the side of a large statue, if they had hoped to keep their presence in this world a secret, they'd blown it now. If Darkseid was observing them somehow, he knew that the Kryptonian trio had been added to the forces on Highfather's side. 

But nothing could be done about that. This area of New Genesis was clear of Para-Demon infestation. With a sigh, she left the fallen fiends to the Celestials' cleanup squads below. Supergirl set a course back for the capital city. 

With her telescopic vision, she picked out her cousin Kal and Dev-Em, in two separate locations. Both had managed to take care of a great number of invaders, and she wondered, in amusing jealousy, whether each of them had bagged a bigger total than she had. They were mopping things up and preparing to return to Izaya's home base as well. 

She gazed on that city, the hypersonic windblasts pushing her hair back from her face. Orion, Mr. Miracle, Barda and company couldn't travel as widely or as quickly as the three Krypts, unless they Boom Tubed it. They had remained generally in the area of the city, though their battles had taken them far apart. Orion had just finished plowing into one last lone Para-Demon and knocking him out of the sky. Bug was perched on a nearby building, raising his hand in a triumph cheer. 

Then a circle of energy crackled into existence very near Orion, facing his back. She wasn't using her super-hearing, but she didn't have to. Kara recognized a Boom Tube easily enough. She kicked in more energy to her super-speed flying. Whatever Orion was facing, friend or foe, he could use the help. 

Orion's hunting instincts, she saw, didn't play him false. He had turned almost before the Boom Tube opening had fully materialized. His hand was sending forth a blast of Astro-Force. But a great yellowish hand, larger than a normal human's by far, emerged from the Tube--she couldn't see more than that, at present--and grabbed him by the chest. 

The New God in the grey helmet looked surprised, grabbed the yellowish hand with both of his own, but didn't seem to be able to break the grip. 

Supergirl cursed herself for not being faster and poured on more speed. Just one more second--just one-- 

She arrived just in time to see Orion's feet being drawn through the Boom Tube, and that was time enough to enter it herself. 

Whatever was in there was going to get a taste of Supergirl's knuckles, and she doubted much of anything this side of Darkseid could stand up to that. She wasn't called the Girl of Steel for nothing. 

That was her last thought before striking something that felt very like a fist, though she didn't quite have time to analyze it. All she knew is that it was hard, it was forceful, and it was making everything go blue-black. 

Superman and Dev-Em arrived just in time to see the Boom Tube fade as Kara came sailing out the end of it. Dev caught her before she could hit the ground. "Kara," he said, shaking her and stinging her with heat-vision to awaken her. "Kara!" 

The man in blue, red, and yellow felt of Kara's pulse and listened to her vital signs, found them acceptible, and flew to a spot where he hovered before Bug. "What happened?" he asked, tightly. 

The red-masked youth sputtered, "A Boom Tube happened. They got Orion!" 

"I saw that," snapped Superman. "Looks like we're headed for Apokolips." 

Bug, who was noticing Mr. Miracle, Barda, Metron, Lightray, Oberon, and Jezebelle converging towards them from various parts of the sky, murmured, "Darkseid. He's probably using this to lure us there...he'll be ready, Superman." 

The Kryptonian hero smiled grimly. 

"He'd better be, Bug," he said. 

-S- 

Orion was flung across the room against a wall. It hurt, and the tubes of his flight device were bent so badly that they'd have to be straightened before he could use them again. But he hadn't sustained any real damage. 

He was in one of Darkseid's chambers, and his father and Kalibak were standing nearby. "You," he said, in a voice deep with menace. 

Darkseid nodded, without passion. 

Kalibak, Orion's half-brother, looking like a Neanderthal in a future-warrior's suit, brandished a club and looked imploringly at his forebear. "Please, father, don't let him finish him. That right belongs to me!" 

Darkseid gave Kalibak a Gibraltarian look. "That right, whelp, belongs to myself. Even a son should know better than to overstep...especially in this matter." 

"Damn you," said Orion, and surged forward, palm upraised for an Astro-Blast. 

The fourth being in the room, he of the great yellow hands, appeared from the side and smashed a great open-handed strike at Orion's face. The New Genesis warrior caromed off a wall and struggled up, in pain. 

"Only unconsciousness, please," said Darkseid. 

Orion aimed a blow at his foe's jaw at approximately the same time that his foe did the same to him. Orion's punch was far less effective. The hero's senses faded and he slumped to the floor. 

Darkseid stepped to his son's side, nudged him with a boot. Orion did not respond. The Lord of Apokolips addressed his newest henchman. 

"Well done, Mongul," he allowed. "But we must swiftly prepare for guests." 

To be continued...   



	9. Part 9:  Earth-X Attack

  
Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

by DarkMark 

Part 9: Earth-X Attack 

Uncle Sam was hopeful that his message to Earth-One would bring the boys a'running. He was less hopeful that it'd be in time to do him and his crew any good. But there was hope. 

Earth-X, the one on which the Nazis had won World War II and ruled it until the Freedom Fighters, the Justice Society, and the Justice League liberated it, was in danger of being tyrannized again. Black Condor, the Ray, Doll Man, Firebrand, Usa, Phantom Lady, and Sam himself had been pressed into service. Again. 

Problem was, it didn't seem to make a whole lotta difference. This time the enemy seemed like an army again, and they had super-powers, to boot. 

The Fighters made their home in and around Washington, D.C. these days, and the bad 'uns seemed to know where to find them. They descended out of some kind of hole in the sky like Valkyries out of a Wagnerian opera. All colors, all kinds, all weird. And wouldn't you know that the individual Fighters had been taking the day off, enjoying life, so to speak. Which, Sam admitted, was a lot easier to do these days with Usa along. 

They'd been doing lunch together when the sirens went off, and both he and Usa had rushed to the restrooms, come out in their working clothes, and signalled the rest of the crew to get it in gear. To their credit, they had. 

The Freedom Fighters were outnumbered by a whole bunch to one. Practically everyone they faced was unfamiliar to them. There weren't any super-villains around Earth-X that Sam knew of; the few still alive when the Nazis had taken over were mostly rounded up and executed. 

The bad guys seemed to be led by one big Nazi who came over, in a green uniform with a big white swastika inside a black circle on his chest. He had a blonde crewcut, a Heidelberg dueling scar, and an attitude you couldn't cut with acid. 

"Achtung!" he had hollered, with the help of a bullhorn, while in flight. "We claim this planet in the name of Apokolips!" 

"Like monkeyshines you do," muttered Sam, and leapt up with a force that carried him into the air and on a path that interconnected with that of the Nazi. He heard Usa say, "Be careful, Sam," but she was already in flight, using her Freedom Torch on the enemy. 

He hammered the Nazi with a left and a right, and another left and a right, and probably some in between. He took back some blows that rocked his head back on his shoulders, but Uncle Sam had taken a lot worse in his time, and wasn't about to give in to any Sieg-Heiling sonofasomething while he was still on two feet and breathing. 

The Ray was blazing away at the newcomers with light. The Bomb was scattering them with his powerful hand-blasts. Sandy was using her black-light ray to blind them, and Firebrand, the Condor, and Doll Man were making do with their good old fists. 

But it just deuced well didn't seem to be enough. 

A gorilla with a bandolier and a jetpack, swearing in French, had torn him away from the Nazi and held him while several others battered him. Sam smashed out, tore the big monkey off his back, plummeted to the ground some fifty feet below, hit a concrete sidewalk, and got hurt. But he dragged himself to his feet and looked the enemy in the eye, pausing only to pick up his battered, three-colored top hat. 

The enemy was on the ground now, shoving aside civilians and cars, tearing into an ad hoc strike squad of police. Sam vaulted into them and started pounding away. He was making headway, too. Lots of the "army" was just glorified thugs in fancy union suits. 

But one of those thugs had electric powers that made Sam's hair stand on end, and interrupted him. Another, some fruitcake in an all-white costume, had a gun that sprayed fast-freezing stuff at him that put him in an icy straitjacket. It would take time for him to flex his muscles and break out of it, and time was something he just didn't have. 

He was satisfied that the big Nazi guy was showing the bruises of their encounter. But that was a cold sort of comfort, because the guy was swinging a haymaker at Sam, and try as he might, he couldn't duck it. 

"Nighty-nite, Onkel Sam," the big bruiser had said. Then impact. And blackness. 

He had awakened sometime later, finding himself in a well-lighted room. He tried to move, found he could not, and looked down. 

From the neck downward, he was encased in a block made of two halves of steely metal, fastened together by a great lock in front. It had to be stronger than steel, because it resisted his efforts to break it when he exerted his muscles. After a few efforts, he slacked off. 

By that time he had noticed the little man in the red uniform before him. He was somewhere around four feet in height. He looked like a comic-opera Prussian, right down to the monocle, and he was smiling. 

"I am glad the Vundabar Vault passes the test," the little man said. "Permit me to introduce myself. I am Virman Vundabar, of Apokolips." 

"You sure don't look like anything from the Book of Revelation to me," grunted Sam. "Less'n one of the Four Horsemen was a midget." 

The little man clambered up several rungs set into the side of the steel block, removed one of his gloves, and slapped Sam smartly across the face. It didn't hurt Sam, but it seemed to satisfy Vundabar. 

"Your comrades are encased in traps which similarly negate their powers," continued Virman. "The black-light room for the one called Ray, a self-sealing cell for your Human Bomb, an area charged with deadly energy for the most beautiful Phantom Lady, and something akin to this for your Usa. The Black Condorman is easily caged, since he only has the power to fly." 

"None of us are easily caged, Mr. Varmint," said Sam. "And we're even harder to keep." 

Virman slapped him again. "We only keep you for hostages. Insurance against the incursion of 'heroes' from other worlds. They'll think less strongly of attacking us if we hold your lives in the balance." 

"So what do you propose to do now?" asked Sam. 

"Some of our army have already taken your current president in hand," said Virman. "We also have command of your defense system controls. The Army of Apokolips has the power to make nuclear war on all of your Earth. Unless it capitulates, we will do such a thing...and Boom Tube our way to safety." 

"Like tarnation ya will!" Sam strained at his bonds, and the two halves of the metal block groaned a bit. But only a bit. 

"Like tarnation we will not," said Virman. "Only a liberationist of Scott Free's caliber could escape this trap, and even he would be taxed, without his many devices. Ease yourself, and enjoy our--" 

He ended his sentence with a cry of pain. Then he fell backward. 

Sam grinned. 

He'd seen the little guy sneak under the door, hop, skip, and jump over the floor, and leap up to smash a powerful blow into the back of Virman Vundabar's head. Now the six-inch man was standing by Virman's shoulder, making sure his victim was out. 

"Kinda figured you'd show up," said Sam. "He didn't mention trapping the Doll Man." 

"I'm kinda easy to overlook, Sam," said the pint-sized paladin. "Here, let me see about this lock." The hole of the contraption was large enough for him to squeeze inside, so he did. Seconds later, Sam heard the tumblers moving. 

"Work fast, Darrell," advised Sam. "This may set off an alarm." 

But, luckily, it didn't seem to. A minute later, the lock popped open, and Uncle Sam's great strength pushed the two halves of the block open wide. Doll Man made his way up Sam's pant leg and coat to his shoulder. He noted that Sam had never lost his hat, during the whole ruckus. 

"I can show you where they're holding Usa and the others," said Doll Man. 

Sam shook his head. "First, show me the way to our headquarters. Much as I hate to admit it, we need some help." 

So the two of them had sneaked and fought their way out of Vundabar's installation, made their way back to the Freedom Fighters' headquarters beneath the Lincoln Memorial, and used a communicator to call the Justice League at their satellite. The one who answered was that saucy Green Arrow, whom Sam had never taken a shine to. But he was a Leaguer, and that was what counted. 

Briefly, Sam had outlined the situation to the Arrow. The hero had responded, "I'm on monitor duty here, but I'll give the others a call and tell 'em to get on it. Then I'll hit the Transmitter Cube and come there myself. Can you hold out till then?"   
Sam had smiled, even through his bruises. 

"We held out for over thirty years," he said. "Reckon we can make it for a few more hours." 

-S- 

There were times in which Kara wished that icebags worked for Kryptonian headaches the way they did for Earthian ones. This was such a time. The punch she had run into in the Boom Tube was strong enough to rock her world, but she had made an effort to shake it off by now. 

Superman had used his telescopic vision, and Dev-Em had confirmed him. "It's Mongul," he said, grimly. "He and Darkseid have Orion." 

"You've faced this man before?" asked Lightray. 

"Oh, yes," said Superman. "I had the bruises to prove it." 

Supergirl explained, "Mongul is one of our few foes that's Krypton-class. In fact, he may be a bit stronger than Kal or I, but he lacks our other powers. I've fought him, too." 

"Then let us away!" said Lightray, his hand at the Mother Box on his belt. An explosion was heard a second before a circle appeared in the air before them. They could dimly see Apokolips at the other end. 

"We'll have to do this fast," opined Dev-Em. "Get in there, hit 'em hard, grab the guy, and get back. No stopping to liberate the planet, yet." 

"Let's retrieve Orion first, Mr. Krypton," said Mr. Miracle, sky-skating towards the Boom Tube on his two foot-held flying discs. "Then we'll go over battle plans." In an instant, he flew through the end of the cylinder. Lightray was right behind him, and just ahead of Barda. Kal, Kara, and Dev followed, with Metron, Bug, and Jezebelle bringing up the rear. Oberon watched from below. 

"Godspeed, guys," he said. "An' I hope none of ya come back on your shields." 

-S- 

Jim Rook was a long ways away from his regular career as a rock star, but he occasionally did gigs when a "senior's tour" thing came up, or when he felt like it in some LA club. Some years back, he'd noted the boom-and-bust cycle of rock 'n' rollers' careers and decided that popularity was a chancy thing, but a good producer could always find work. So he put the guitar and keyboards back, except for occasional session work and a couple of here-I-am albums. He made a home for himself behind the glass, in front of a mixing board. And he found out he liked it. 

Now he had a wife, a son, a daughter, and a comfortable house in the Canyon. Plus he had a string of fairly successful rock, pop, and country discs he'd engineered, and a lot of money in the bank. 

He also had a sword he kept in a glass case above his bed. When people asked him where he'd gotten it, he just mumbled, "Oh, picked it up somewhere," or words to that effect. He never let anybody take it out of the case. 

Truth to tell, he didn't much touch it himself. 

It was 3 a.m. and he was crashed in bed alongside his wife Janet. The kids, Jack and Janie, were in their rooms. 

An alarm went off in his bedroom. 

Jim Rook straightened up immediately, as awake as a combat veteran. This should not be happening. This could not be happening. Their house was protected, for cripes' sake. They had guards on patrol in the neighborhood, high fences with electricity, the whole nine yards. 

But someone had gotten in. He had a couple of Dobermans in the house, but he didn't hear them barking. If the intruders had taken them out...he shuddered, thinking of a little hanger-on in the community some years ago who had done in an entire houseful of people with his gang. A hanger-on named Manson. 

He had no guns in the house. Jim Rook was a trained martial artist, but didn't know how well that would do in an uncertain situation. Janet was up beside him. "Jim, what's wrong?" she said, choking back fear. "Why's the alarm on?" 

For the first time in years, he reached for the glass case. "Call the cops," he said. 

"But, Jim--" 

"Call the cops!" 

The reasons for the alarm being tripped were in the living room. Three females, all in outlandish costumes. One looked like a teenaged girl. The gear looked too expensive and too garish for burglars or punks. A thought ran through his mind about crazy groupies, but another thought replaced it. Memories of what he had become when he first held this sword, which was humming wildly in his hands. 

The Dobermans were sleeping peacefully on the floor. 

One of the women, a blonde in a red helmet and blue skintight suit, seemed to be their spokesperson. "Jim Rook, we have need of you," she said. 

He stepped forward, holding the sword before him, warily. "Who are you? How did you get in here? And how do you know my name?" 

"My name is Harbinger," said the woman. "I was charged by the Monitor with keeping files on every superhuman on the planet. Including those who only appeared for a brief time, such as yourself. We need your help." 

"Help for what?" His face was grim-carved stone. Nobody had the right to come in here, where his family was housed, without permission. Nobody. Even if they were from some side-world where elves, fairies, and trolls lived. The one he had seen, and fought in. 

The young girl in the purple dress spoke up, stepped closer, but stopped as he brandished the sword. "Mr. Rook, my name's Amy," she said. "But I'm known as Amethyst in Gemworld. I think something happened to you like it happened to me...I'm an Earth girl, too, but I got sent to this other dimension and got these gem-powers and, well, found myelf in a big situation. Is that what happend to you?" 

Rook said, "I don't know what in hell you're talking about. Just stay where you are, and keep those hands where I can see them." 

The third one, a woman in a green outfit, said, "Oh, we don't have the time for this," and extended her hand towards him. It had nothing in it but a burst of magic. He shouted as it hit him, but it didn't hurt. 

All it did was leave him standing in the uniform he'd worn to rescue Janet, all those years ago. The black suit with the head-covering, the red cloak, and the big belt with the "N" on the buckle. 

"My name is Jennifer Morgan," she said. "I'm from Skartaris. And, according to Ms. Harbinger here, your name is Nightmaster and we need you. Let's get going." 

By the time a robed-and-slippered Janet Rook reached the living room, all that was left were the two sleeping dogs, which she let lie. She bolted back and checked Jack and Janie's rooms, found them okay, and didn't wake them. 

Dear Lord, was it happening again? 

The cops knocked at the door. At least, she hoped it was the cops. 

She didn't know what she was going to tell them. 

-S- 

Supergirl nearly ralphed when she soared out of the other end of the Boom Tube. Apokolips would make the worst industrial dump look like a garden spot. 

An entire planet, roughly the size of Earth, almost entirely covered with metal, concrete, and--fire-pits. 

The fire-pits were enormous, possibly the size of states or small countries in her world, dotting the globe and belching flame into the sky. She guessed, correctly, that these served as power-sources and garbage dumps on Apokolips. She also bet that some of the garbage dumped in them once walked on two legs. 

She looked at Dev, flying within earshot of her, and said, "I know what we're doing here. But, like you said, let's do it and get out." 

"With pleasure, Kara," said Dev. 

The three of them, paced only by Lightray, sped up and left the others behind. Metron shouted out, "No! Let us accompany you. You know nothing of Darkseid's defenses!" 

The Kryptonians heard him, using their super-hearing, but were too focused on what lie ahead. With their triple power, they could take Mongul. Darkseid, with his Omega Effect power, would be a tougher nut to handle, but their mission was rescue and retrieval, not battle. At least, not any more battle than they couldn't avoid. 

"We need to find Pariah, too," she said to Superman, using a bit of voice-projection to make certain he heard it at their great rate of speed. "I can't see him with my vision powers, but he has to be somewhere on-planet." 

Lightray said, "With all due respect, Supergirl, Orion is our first objective. We may return for your friend at a later time. But if Darkseid has chosen to take Orion at this moment, we must assume that--" 

"We're there," burst in Kal, pointing at the horrific fortress of Darkseid below them. They noted flying guardsmen, either in anti-grav packs or aerial craft, converging on them. Some Para-Demons were present, too. 

"Only thing to watch for besides Darkseid and Mongul are Gravi-Guards," said Superman. "They're slower than molasses, but they have gravity-focussing powers like Geo-Force. They can negate our strength. They did it to me, when I met the Forever People." 

"Point 'em out if you see 'em, Kal," said Dev, and broke formation to drop feet-first at the great onyx installation. He shrugged off some ray-blasts from the roof guards and crunched through the top of the building as if it were cardboard. Several floors below gave way. He didn't really have time to bother with the Apokolips functionaries that gaped at him on his way down. 

Orion was in a stasis cell, bound to a tilted table by a ray that held him paralyzed. His helmet was off, and his face was not that of a New Genesite. It was horrible and twisted, the face of the son of Darkseid. This was the visage that his Mother Box usually repressed. There were several guards standing by, armed with ray-rifles. Dev let them have their shots, and the blasts glanced harmlessly off his chest. By that time, Kal and Kara had arrived as well, plunging through the hole he had made in the building. Mongul smashed through a door and confronted the trio. 

"So nice to see you both again," he rumbled, stepping forward. "And you, too, whoever you are." 

"The name's Dev-Em," said Dev. "And we're all Krypts at this party." 

Mongul lunged forward, both hands held up to smash at them. He did get in a couple of blows, and they had awesome power behind them. But Superman dodged the hands that tagged Kara and Dev, and unleashed a blow to Mongul's jaw. It didn't kayo his enemy, and Kal knew it wouldn't, but it did rock him back on his heels. In fact, it knocked him on his rear end. Mongul rubbed his jaw for a moment, then got back up. 

Supergirl looked rather loggy, but she was rallying. Dev-Em had smashed the table holding Orion, but until he was taken out from under the ray, the Celestial would still be motionless. Well, first things first. Dev stepped back out, slammed his body in between Kal and a charging Mongul, and wished that he hadn't after feeling the impact. But it wasn't much worse than he'd taken from Black Adam, a few days back and a thousand years in the future. 

"Can you do it, Kara?" asked Superman, helping his cousin to her feet. 

She shook her head, whipping her blonde tresses about. "I'll...rise to the occasion. Together?" 

"Together," agreed Kal. "You, too, Dev." 

Mongul's hands were spread to reach out and crush whomever he grabbed in a bear-hug. But Superman, Supergirl, and Dev-Em were ready for him. Three fists flew for the same target, three points on Mongul's jaw, all delivered with the blockbusting power of a Kryptonian. 

The space tyrant could easily have held his own with any one of them. But in a three-on-one situation, he had only one recourse. His eyes rolled up and his three opponents stepped back so that he could hit the floor, face first. 

Kara sighed. Now, not only her head hurt, but her fist felt like a five-alarm carpal tunnel syndrome. "Let's get him, and get out of here," she said. 

As they turned towards Orion, still in his cell, a new voice came from behind them. It was familiar only to Superman. "I wouldn't," it said. 

They would have whirled at super-speed, except they found their powers of velocity rapidly draining away. No wonder, Kara thought numbly, as she saw the color of the newcomer's skin when he stripped away the last of a protective garment. It must have been impregnated with lead. 

The man was grinning, and his skin was glowing green. 

"You," gasped Kal, on his hands and knees, with an expression of pain. "You." 

Dev, beside him, tried to fly, but only managed to get a foot or so before flopping on his face. Kara grabbed him by the ankle and tried to pull him back, but was too weak to even manage that. Her vision was fading, and with it, her consciousness. 

She heard Dev saying, with great effort, "El...who is he?" 

The green man replied, "Superman, you've been incredibly remiss. You mean to tell me that this guy is from Krypton, too, and you haven't yet told him about your old friend, the Kryptonite Man?" 

-S- 

In an apartment somewhere in Metropolis lives a man known as Willie Walker, if you can call it living. He is a paraplegic, lacking even the power to speak. His sister and brother-in-law, Verna and Ray Johnson, take care of him. As much as they can, they have a nurse do it. But Willie is not on heavy life-support, and neither of them would think of pulling his plug before he passes on naturally. 

The thing was, Willie had pulled the plug on a lot of beings, and not just the ones he fought in Vietnam, where he acquired his paralysis. 

It began one day when a herald of Death appeared in his room, a black man like himself, only in an incredibly strange costume. The intruder had merged with him, and when he did, Willie found himself able to move, to speak, to fly on the strange skis the intruder wore, and to wield great and terrible power. 

It was the power to harvest the souls of people he later learned lived on New Genesis and Apokolips. They feared the sight of the man he had become, for he was the harbinger and completion of Death. 

When his job was done, the man on the flying skis returned to Willie's apartment, to Willie's bed, and let Willie become Willie once again. But he knew that it was always just a matter of time before he rode those skis again. 

Verna looked in on him now, came to his bed, stroked his forehead, talked to him. He blinked for answers, once for yes, two for no. He loved having her around, loved having her read to him, hold his limp hand. 

Only this time, his hand was a bit less than sensationless. He could almost feel the ski poles materializing in his palms, though he knew the change wouldn't take place until he was alone. 

Sometime, very soon, the Black Racer would appear in the skies. 

Sometime, very soon, somebody else would die. 

To be continued...   
  



	10. Part 10:  A Shade of Difference

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 10: A Shade of Difference 

by DarkMark   


For Rac Shade and Mellu Loron, the troubles seemed to be over. For the moment. 

The two of them, both law-enforcement agents from the dimensional world of Meta, had become involved in a harrowing series of adventures that began with Shade's imprisonment on a false accusation of treason and attempted murder. The victims had been Mellu's parents, and she had stalked him to the Earth-Zone when he escaped, trying to neutralize him. But she had finally learned the truth about the criminal conspiracy that had framed Shade, and, with a small group of Metans, managed to clear his name and win him a pardon. They had also brought down the crime lords, whose leader, the Supreme Decider, had been Mellu's own mother. In between all that, they had come to the Earth-Zone, rescued their friend Wizor, and defeated Dr. Z. Z., who had held him hostage. 

Now they were back on Meta, looking out at the capital city from the veranda of Mellu's home. For once, Shade didn't have to worry about being recognized by floating police patrols. And Mellu didn't have to worry about Shade's life being in jeopardy. 

"Know what I'm thinking?" murmured Shade, pulling Mellu a bit closer. 

"Oh, I have a good guess," she said, snuggling up a bit more. 

"Not that. I'm thinking about giving up the field-agent bit, Mellu, and becoming a full-time trainer at the Academy." 

"Do it. It's what you did with me, way back then. It's also a lot safer than chasing Crime Lords through the Area of Madness." 

"I'm never going back there," he said. "Never." 

She shuddered a bit. "I'm thinking of when I had to go through there. And what you did to bring my sanity back." 

"Hey. I'd do it again, if I had to. But only if I had to." 

Mellu sighed. "And on top of it all...my mother was Sude." 

"I'm sorry, Mellu." 

"I am, too. She's still in a coma, but in a prison hospital ward. Dad...I don't see how he's still together." 

"He just takes it a day at a time, like we do." 

"We have to see him once a day, Rac. I won't have him thinking we're not there for him when he needs us." 

"We're getting married, Mellu. Can't take him on the honeymoon with us." 

"Then we'll have to wait on the honeymoon till later!" 

"Why don't we ask him what he wants? Maybe we can find him someone to..." 

"Rac! The man has just found out his wife was head of the Crime Combine! Don't you have any empathy for what he went through?" 

"Oh, I do, Mellu. I've also got empathy for what I went through, and for what you and Wizor and all the rest went through. But we need time for ourselves. To bond together. Man and wife. Don't you agree?" 

"I do," she said. She touched his fingers, stroking them. "But I just don't want him to think he's off in the No-Zone because we and Mom aren't around." 

Shade sighed. "Your Mom is still around, Mellu. One of these days she'll come out of that coma." 

"The doctors say she's aware of what's happening around her. That she can hear and feel. But she can't react to it." 

"I know what they say." 

"Shade?" 

"Yes?" 

"I hate to say it. But...I'm not looking forward to her coming out of it." 

"I understand." 

"Shade?" 

"What?" 

"Go get the M-Vest. I think somebody's phasing in." 

The red-haired man snapped his head in the direction Mellu was looking. It was true. Four indistinct figures were warping in from somewhere...Zero-Zone, Earth-Zone, it couldn't be determined. They had to be Crime Lords. He grabbed Mellu's hand and pulled her along with him as he bolted inside. 

Once in the house proper, Shade touched a control stud and metallic walls schussed into place, blocking off the veranda. He and Mellu ran full-tilt through their home and into a grav-lift, which lowered them quickly two levels down into the sub-basement. They sprang out. Shade went to the east wall, spoke a code word, and watched two sections of the wall separate. 

In a chamber within was hung a red plastic-and-metal vest with gold symbols. The M-Vest, the source of Shade's power. He stripped off his pants and shirt and donned it, all within the space of ten seconds. Mellu went to another part of the basement and selected a formidable-looking blaster. She had been well-trained in its use. Sometimes, with living targets. 

They heard a voice from the direction of the lift. "Mr. Shade? Uh, if you can hear me, please acknowledge. We don't mean any harm. Can we come down?" 

"No!" said Shade and Mellu, in unison. 

"All right," said the voice, which was male. "Can we talk from here?" 

"You have ten seconds to identify yourself," said Shade. "Then we take you in." He nudged Mellu towards a panel in the wall. She activated an alarm. The Metan security force would be there within a minute or two. 

"This has gone on long enough," said a woman. A pair of legs began to descend in the lift. Shade had already activated the M-Vest. 

"Stun, not kill," said Shade, sotto voce, to Mellu. He hoped she would heed him. These interlopers probably were Crime Lords, out for revenge. But there was the merest chance that they weren't. And Shade knew all about misunderstandings. 

The woman who descended in the lift was a white-haired beauty in a dark-green robe-suit that left her legs bare. She wore boots of green and gold and a metallic tiara. She didn't look particularly afraid of them. "Hi. I'm Jennifer Morgan. I'm from Skartaris, on Earth." 

"Stay where you are," said Shade. 

"I can't," she answered. "Amethyst is right behind me. Just let me move out of the way." 

Mellu hefted her blaster. "You phase into our home without warning. You apparently know who we are. You really expect us to believe you're not Crime Lords?" 

"I really expect you to listen," said Jennifer, "because we've come a long way and we need your help." 

Another person was descending in the lift. It was a teenaged girl, by the looks of her; a blonde, dressed in a short purple garment and boots. On her forearms were golden bands, on her forehead was a purple tiara, and she had a golden-hilted sword buckled by her side. An offensive weapon, noted Shade, but hardly of much use against Metan weapons. 

"I'm Amethyst," she said. "I'm also from Earth, but I live in another world, as well. Are you Rac Shade?" 

"I have been," he acknowledged. 

"We need your help, sir," she said, politely. 

Mellu was wary, but dumbfounded. Why would the Crime Lords use a girl who looked about fifteen years of age as one of their pawns? If she was a pawn, that is. 

While the conversation was going on, the man who had first spoken to Shade came down the lift. He had a sword in hand, and it hummed with unMetan energy. Shade noted that, of all the three newcomers, he looked like he wanted to be here the least. 

"Hi," said the man. "Look, we're not here to fight. And we're also not the bad guys. My name is Jim Rook, but you can call me Nightmaster. I'm from Earth, too. But I've spent some time in Myrra. That's an extradimensional world, kind of like, uh, this one. Only it isn't." 

"What have you come here for?" asked Shade. "Why should I believe you?" 

Nightmaster started to answer. Then, as he kept looking at Shade, something happened to take the words away from his brain and mouth. Perhaps his nerves had something to do with it. After all, he had been taken from his warm bed in the middle of the night, turned into Nightmaster again by three freaky witches, convinced he had to join in a gig with all of Earth's heroes against somebody called Dark Side, and dragged along through a dimension warp to this place. 

And now this guy called Shade was changing... 

His body seemed to enlarge, distort, and become like unto that of a nightmare demon. Part of him was still of normal proportion. But his left arm and right leg became incredibly large, rubbery, brightly-colored, clawed, forbidding. Shade's normal head seemed superimposed over a much greater, uglier, horrifically-grinning caricature of himself. As if he had a demon within him. 

Jim Rook wasn't sure what he was up against, but he had fought wizards before. 

The singing sword held before him, Nightmaster got in front of the women (which irked Jennifer considerably, and Amethyst somewhat, since both of them had magical powers to dwarf his own). "Don't come any closer," warned Rook. "Especially with your big parts." 

Shade advanced, seeming to grow more terrible with each step. Even the sorceresses seemed to see his distorted-self now. Amy's hands glowed with power, and Jennifer raised her own hands, beginning to mutter a spell. Mellu's finger tightened on the activator of her weapon. 

"Enough!" 

A new voice stopped all five of them. Another woman, one in blue and red. She hadn't come down in the lift, but she was there in the sub-basement, beside the other newcomers. 

She had a no-nonsense attitude that made even Mellu ease up on her trigger finger. 

"We have need of you, Rac Shade," said Harbinger. "Doctor Fate and Doctor Mist have directed us here. Apokolips threatens the Earths, and, through its link, Meta. We will explain along the way." 

Shade turned down the power of his M-Vest, and the monstrous illusions disappeared back into his normal self. "You'll explain right now," he said. 

"Come with us," said Harbinger. 

"Rac," said Mellu. "We can't trust them." 

The Metan hesitated. "Mellu," he said. "We must hear them out." 

"This has gone on long enough," said Jennifer, and spoke a short spell. On impulse, Mellu grabbed Shade's arm. 

That, and only that, allowed her to accompany him as the two of them were yanked through dimensional space to a strange satellite. It wasn't Metan, and looked beyond Earth's technology. 

"Where are we?" said Mellu. "Why are we here?" 

"We are in the Monitor's satellite," said Harbinger. "And we are awaiting word from Dr. Fate to tell us how we may save the Multiverse." 

Shade said, "That does not explain much." 

With a wry look, Nightmaster sheathed his sword. "Buddy, if you understand it, you're way ahead of me." 

-S-   
Lightray hated...simply hated...the fact that his allies had beat him to Apokolips. But he had been holding back out of caution. The Kryptonians had been impulsive, trusting more to their power. After all, had they not taken out over a thousand para-demons among the three of them? And now, look at them... 

That was just what he was doing as he whisked out of the fading Boom Tube. Looking at the three of them, Superman, Supergirl, and the one called Dev-Lem or something else. Plus the huge, yellow-skinned bruiser, fallen on the floor not far from them. Plus Orion, who was pent in a cell underneath one of Darkseid's immobility rays. 

Plus the strange, red-costumed, green-skinned man who was radiating an unholy green aura. He looked surprised to see Lightray. 

But he was still killing the Kryptonians. 

First things first, Lightray decided. Remove the source of trouble. He activated his hyperspeed and, trailing light-bursts, slammed full-throttle into the Kryptonite Man's midsection. The sound of the villain's "Urmph!" hadn't time to issue from his lips before he was slammed into a stone wall, and almost through it. 

K-Man looked stunned. At least, thought Lightray, he looked like he'd stay where he was. Perhaps he was far enough away from the Krypts for them to recover. He'd need their invulnerability to extricate Orion from his cell. If Lightray tried it himself, he'd be as paralyzed as his friend. 

He turned, and felt the new presence before he saw him. 

"We're simply going to have to step up security around here," said a voice like granite on slate. 

Before him, having phased in as silently as air, blocking him from the bodies of Kal, Kara, and Dev, looking like a barricade if barricades had eyes glowing with Omega Effect power, was Darkseid. 

The power was about to be unleashed. 

There would be time for fear to catch up to Lightray in a few moments. Right now, he had to outspeed that fear and everything else. 

The New God's power thrust against the back wall and shot him forward with a velocity only the Flash could have bettered. He angled up, then down, in a desperate fake-out dodge, and sensed the blaze of the Omega Effect eye-beams going over him and between his spread ankles even as he rocketed into Darkseid's massive legs. 

Like a toppling cliff, the master of Apokolips fell on his face. 

Lightray did not slacken his speed. He could not afford to. The decision of who to save was already made. He cursed himself for it. 

He grabbed Dev-Em by the shirtfront in one hand and Superman and Supergirl by their capes in his other. Mentally, he activated his Mother Box to open a Boom Tube before him. It took a second, a damnable, interminable second. 

The air crackled with the presence of another Omega Effect blast. 

Lightray had to outrun the thing. 

He blasted through the mouth of the energy-tunnel, dragging the threesome behind him, feeling the surge of deadly power loosed at him. It would strike his charges first if it made contact, but it would take him, as well. 

He would either be transported to another dimension, time, or place, or he would be disintegrated. 

Come on, he told himself. Come on... 

Measuring the physical distance traversed in a Boom Tube is almost an impossibility. A tubular warp created by the living computer that is a Mother Box, it can seem to take seconds or minutes to pass through. Those seconds or minutes can be the longest time in a traveller's life. 

The Omega blast was catching up... 

The towers of New Genesis were visible through the far end of the Tube. But, Source take it, they didn't seem to be close enough. 

Then Lightray felt an unexpected boost. An arm around his shoulder, forcing him forward like a booster rocket. He sent another surge of power through his legs, the light-power giving him another thrust through the tube of salvation. 

All four of them shot through the end of the Boom Tube like a cylinder through a compressed-air tube. Lightray angled them down. The Omega Effect reached its limit about a mile beyond them and some distance above them and exploded, with nothing to destroy. The Boom Tube faded. 

Lightray finally looked at the face of the person who had boosted him, and saw it was Supergirl. 

"Thanks for saving us," she said, smiling wanly. The Kryptonite had hurt her, he could tell. 

"Thank you for saving me," he replied. "Darkseid's Omega Effect almost destroyed us." 

They began to descend towards the streets of the city, with Celestials pointing up towards them, flying patrolmen buzzing nearer, and their tension beginning to ease a bit. Kara took Dev from Lightray's hand and supported his bulk with her arms under his armpits. Lightray switched to holding Superman the same way. 

"We were careless," said Kara. "Didn't check to see who Darkseid would have waiting for us. Thought we could get Orion out of there with just our speed. In short...we were stupid." 

Lightray looked grim. "I had to leave him," he said. "He who is a brother to me. I had to leave him there." 

Supergirl touched ground on the plaza before Highfather's palace, setting Dev down lightly. "I know, Lightray. But we didn't have a choice." 

"The green man," said the Celestial, touching down with Superman. "He is one of your old foes?" 

"One of Kal's," said Kara, slapping Dev lightly. "Wake up, honey. The guy used to be known as the Kryptonite Kid. He went through a green Kryptonite cloud in space and absorbed its power. He can kill me, Kal, Dev, and anyone else from Krypton. Dev? Come on. Speak to me." 

Superman was stirring. He snapped his eyes open. "Lightray," he said. Then: "We must have failed." 

Lightray nodded. "For the moment," he said. "But with Darkseid, all we seem to hope for is a working stalemate." 

"Oh, Sheol," groaned Dev, finally rousing himself. "What a headache. El, tell me. Was that another one of your unending parade of people who want you dead?" 

"As a matter of fact, it was, Dev," snapped Superman. "I can lend you a few, if you'd like to take them home with you." 

Kara sighed, and sat down on the grass beside Dev. Some of the passers-by were taking note of them, but Lightray's mien seemed to warn them away. "Sorry it had to be like this, Devian." 

He grasped her booted ankle and rubbed it gently. "Not like you planned it this way, Karaish." 

She hesitated. "I want there to be a time when there's nothing for us to fight, Dev. When there's just the two of us together again, doing...what we do together." 

Dev smiled at her. "Haven't we been doing a lot of that already?" 

"Yes, Dev. Yes, we have. But I'm...oh, Sheol, I'm so tired of all this stuff. Fight after fight after fight. We save the universe, we kill Mordru, we kill Satan Girl, we come back, and here somebody throws Darkseid in our face again. Can't there ever be an end to it?" 

He took her hand in his, and looked into her eyes. "Maybe. If you come back to the 30th with me." 

She caught Superman looking at her, out of the corner of her eye. He had heard Dev's words, too. He looked tense. 

But, despite that, she answered Dev. "I might. Just for awhile, just for a getaway." 

"Kara," said Kal. "If you remember, the Legion isn't exactly lacking for enemies, either." 

She stared at him. "But we don't have to go out there with our dukes up, spoiling for a fight. De we, Kal?" 

"No," he replied. "Most of the time, it comes to us." 

"Well, it's gonna have to start coming somewhere else before long," she said. "I'm tired of this. I wasn't born to be a, a super-heroine. I just wanted to be a normal girl from Argo, and, and get a good job and a good man and settle down..." 

"Except," said Kal gently, "there aren't very many people from Argo left anymore. Are there, Kara?" 

"Oh," she said. It was a strange and lonely thing to say. 

"El," said Dev, raising up on one knee. "You have got the most peculiar set of proprieties I've ever seen. Why don't you just shove a Daxamite knife through her heart? Or would that be too kind?" 

"What I'm trying to remind her of," Superman said, "is that our powers place us in a certain position. And it's one of obligation. No one on Earth can do what we can, and very often, to protect it and other planets, we are required to do everything we're capable of." 

Lightray broke in. "We have no time for this now, I'm afraid. We must report to Highfather. I must tell him that his son is still a prisoner of Darkseid." He paused. "Are you still with us? As warriors?" 

"Speaking for myself, absolutely," said Superman, standing up. "Let's go." 

"What of you?" asked Lightray of Dev. 

Dev pushed up from the grass. "I've found myself in this situation, so I guess I'll just have to help work through it," he said. "But once I get home, I'm putting in for a week of sick leave." 

The white-clad Celestial turned to Kara. "And--" 

"I'm in," she said. "I'm in. It's not like I had a choice in the matter. Is it?" 

There was silence. 

"Didn't think so," she grumbled, and followed the others in the direction of Highfather's palace. 

-S- 

Earth-S looked like easy pickings for the Injustice Society of the World. True, they'd never been there before, except for the Shade. But they had a native to show the others around, namely Ibac. He was bare-chested and Mohawked and wore black toreador pants and looked like an idiotic wrestler. But he was at least as strong as Solomon Grundy, so most of the crew kept their opinions to themselves. 

Their numbers had dwindled in recent years with the deaths of some members. But they still had a decent quorum, as it was. The Fiddler, the Huntress (not the blasted Batman's daughter, but Wildcat's old enemy), the Sportsmaster, the Icicle, the Shade, the Thinker, and Vandal Savage. Their kids, who called themselves Injustice Unlimited, had been left back on Earth-Two to mind the store. 

Darkseid had told the Wizard to conquer that world, with the help of others who would soon arrive, and hold it until further notice. So, as soon as they materialized, they got down to business, seizing a nuclear sub with the help of another magic-warp and threatening to start World War III unless somebody took them seriously. They hadn't killed any of the captive crew yet, since the Wiz thought that would be nasty. But if they didn't get any notice from the world's governments, particularly America, within an hour or so, well, killing a few swabbies was certainly tidier than throwing a hunk of thermonuclear hell at somebody. 

And if the first didn't convince them, perhaps the second would. 

So the eight super-villains sat in the sub's control room and waited for word to get back. With no Captain Marvel, Captain Marvel, Jr., or Mary Marvel on hand, they didn't think they had much to worry about. Who was left? Spy Smasher? 

They felt a strange tilting sensation. 

The Wizard looked at Savage. "Is this crate in motion? Did you start the engines?" 

"Fool!" snapped the other black-bearded man. "I have learned more than you could dare contemplate in my millions of years, but even I never learned how to drive one of these!" 

The Thinker put on his mind-over-matter Thinking Cap and adjusted it. "I can feel mental presences from outside this thing," he pronounced. "Ibac. If that's what your name is. I thought you said the Marvels were gone!" 

"Well, they are," said Ibac, who approached Captain Marvel himself in power. "I mean, that's what Darkseid said. You really wanna take the matter up with him?" 

They felt a great thud, and were shaken to their hands and knees, as if somebody had just set the sub down on solid ground. Wherever that was. The Icicle, lying on his side, unholstered his freeze-gun. "Give me a clear shot," he warned. 

A hole ripped open in the side of the sub. Two hands were visible, ripping it. 

Then the sides of it widened enough for the Injustice Society to see a bit of blue sky beyond, and a very tall man in a Captain Marvel suit. He stepped through, accompanied by a fat man and a country boy in the same sort of uniform. 

Ibac's eyes widened. "Oh, gee," he exclaimed. "It's been so long, I forgot all about them!" 

"Them?" hissed the Huntress. "Who are they?" 

"We're the Three Lieutenant Marvels, ma'am," said the tall one, in a Texan accent. "At your service." 

Battle was joined. 

-S- 

Kara noticed how stoically Izaya took the news of his son's imprisonment. But she knew that the information hit him hard. Alongside him were Metron, Mr. Miracle, and Big Barda. None of them looked like they were enjoying the news, either. 

Beside her were Kal, Dev, and Lightray, who had just finished his report. They awaited Highfather's reply. 

Finally, the ruler of New Genesis spoke. "Orion must be recovered. We will implement a plan for doing so, but covertly. A frontal assault would either lead to Darkseid transporting him away, or destroying him, if he saves his knowledge beforehand." 

"His knowledge?" echoed Supergirl. 

Highfather continued without pause. "But the present danger requires another task, first. You must contact the woman called Harbinger for me. Then, there is an undertaking you must perform." 

Superman asked, "Which is, Highfather?" 

The Celestial answered, "Which is to find some of our young ones you have already met, Superman, for in one of them lies the possible key to victory. Or defeat. You must find and bring back from whatever plane they now occupy, the family unit of Mark Moonrider. 

"You must recover the Forever People." 

To be continued... 


	11. Part 11:  Desaad's Delights

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 11: Desaad's Delights 

by DarkMark 

In blackness was where Pariah would have preferred to spend his time. He had one small satisfaction: that Desaad had tried to torture him with a complicated contraption that was supposed to work on him physically, on his nerve cells, and the thing had blown up in his face. Desaad, with blackened face, had said, "Yes. Well, now we'll have to try again, won't we?" 

Pariah had actually smiled, and said, "I can come to no physical harm." 

That had led Desaad down the right track. For tortures of the mind can be even worse than tortures of the body, and Apokolips has mind-probers aplenty. 

Pariah could not rise from his chair, held as he was by a stasis beam that paralyzed his lower body. Whatever he faced, he could not get up and walk away from it. Perhaps it would not have helped.   
Desaad had clamped a helmet over his head. It transmitted images from his brain to a receiver, which the master torturer of Apokolips manipulated like an orchestra conductor. He picked and choosed among the scenes of Pariah's life, helped along by a gauge which glowed more redly when it registered a pattern of fear in a certain remembrance. 

The images were recorded and stored in the device's memory bank. Then Desaad began to fiddle with them, for he was an artist, and artists always reshape reality to their best intent. Some of the images were made more subtly frightening. Others were enlarged so as to knock down the viewer's mind with fear coming at him like a diesel train. 

When he was ready, Desaad touched a control on the machine. "Tell me," he said, "what do you think of this?" 

The images transmitted back to Pariah's covered eyes depicted the Great Experiment. 

He saw Daneeta, coming into the lab, but much more slowly. The fear in her eyes was much more pronounced than it had been before. Around her, subtle things played, just out of the focus of his conscious mind. Sounds were heard, such as Pariah would never have preferred to hear in his too-long lifetime. She stepped into the laboratory slowly, and with every step, something happened to her body. It distorted, began to burn. Slowly. So that he could see every layer of skin being vaporized, all the organs beneath pulsating and bleeding and... 

And she was looking at him. And saying something. And pleading with her eyes, her eyes which were still intact though her body burned and burned and burned. 

"OH, GODS!" screamed Pariah. "TAKE IT AWAY!" 

But it would not go away. Not even when he closed his eyes and sobbed. 

Daneeta took a very long time to die. When she did, she was replaced by the faces of some of his relatives, his colleagues, his old teachers, all of them dying in precisely the same way, all of them accusing him with their eyes full of terror. The eyes which were the last things to be consumed. 

Then there was the Great Hand again. The Great Hand which was altered, somehow...made more clawlike, more threatening. 

And it was reaching out... 

For HIM... 

Pariah had been screaming for some time. He didn't know he could reach a higher pitch at that time, having given about as much effort as he could to the task. But he managed it, howling like a trapped animal, tears coursing down his face, sweat staining his clothes from armpits to waistband, his bowels beginning to move of their own accord. 

He heard laughter. This he did not think was a simulation. 

Before he passed out, he heard someone say, "I think we're getting results now." 

The nightmares he had after fainting were not as bad as the ones he had waking. 

He was grateful for that. 

-S- 

"The Forever People," echoed Superman. "Mark Moonrider, Big Bear, Beautiful Dreamer and all the rest. I'd wondered what happened to them. I only saw them once." 

"Um, Forever People?" asked Kara. "I'm not quite familiar with them, cousin. Let me see..." She combed her super-memory and came up with some data. "Ah. I remember you telling me once, years ago, about your first glimpse of 'Supertown'...which is where we are right now, correct?" 

Izaya rumbled, "That is the phrase some of our younger ones used for the capital city of our world. As for 'Forever People', it is simply a term Orion once used in derision towards Moonrider's family group, which they adopted. Just as we are known among some of your kind as...'New Gods'." Highfather looked discomfited by the phrase. 

"Yeah," said Kara, wryly. "It took a little for me to get used to people calling me 'Supergirl', too." 

Dev-Em wrapped an arm about her waist and drew her closer. To Highfather, he said, "All due respect, Father, I think we'd be better off with my plan of infiltration into this Apokolips scene. We do have to learn what Darkseid's got in mind, besides raising hell on five Earths at once. We still have to get back Orion, too." 

Lightray, standing beside Izaya with crossed arms, snapped, "As if we were unaware of that. The last time you attempted that, I had to save you three from the green man and the Dark Lord himself." 

"Any time you want us to step back so you can go toe-to-toe with Mongul, let me know, whitepants," retorted Dev. 

"Stop it, Dev," said Kal. "Izaya is Orion's foster father. If anyone can be concerned for his fate, Highfather is. But what of the Forever People, sir?" 

The white-maned elder sighed and leaned on his staff, bending so that he might sit down on a bench of obsidian stone. It looked as though he was fatigued. Kara found herself starting towards him to help, but Lightray saw her and gestured her back. When he was seated, Izaya spoke again. 

"Mark Moonrider and his unit are related not by blood, but by comradeship," he explained. "They formed a communal living group not long before the conflict with Darkseid began anew. The precipitation of that conflict was the abduction of humans from your Earth and of Dareema from our world. Both were done by Darkseid for the same purpose: to learn if any of those minds contained useful fragments of the Anti-Life Equation." 

"Explain this Anti-Life Equation to me, Father, in a page or less," said Dev. "I know something about science, but I was a philosophy washout." 

Lightray answered him. "The Anti-Life Equation is a concept which some individuals in this universe hold in part or in toto in their minds. Possibly all men have it in some small degree. This concept, when taken and possessed and wielded by a being of great enough power, will make all men slaves of the one who wields it. But that one must be mighty indeed. For lesser men, even ones who are of great stature in your world, all it amounts to is the ability to have others obey their stated wishes." 

"Darkseid, of course, would have enough power," murmured Supergirl. 

"The Equation would shut down all free will in the universe," said Izaya. "Only the controller would decide what actions would be taken, what thoughts would be conceived, and all would be subject to the will of--" 

"Darkseid," said Kara. 

"Exactly," said Izaya. "That is the goal Darkseid has sought for most of his existence. That is the thing we have kept him from finding for most of ours. And now--" Izaya gestured with his free hand. Lightray had an uneasy expression. 

"Then we've got to stop him," Kara said. "Obviously." 

"No," said Izaya. 

"No?" Kara echoed the word incredulously. 

"What do you mean, Highfather?" asked Superman. "If we're to--" 

"You cannot stop him," said Izaya. "But one of the Forever People can. If we get to them in time." 

Dev shifted his feet. "So how in Sheol do we find these Forever People?" 

Izaya looked tired. "We will give you aid. What we can spare of our fighting force, what information we have. But, so far...we have been unable to find them, ourselves." 

"Great," snapped Kara, shaking off Dev's arm and turning to face the wall. "Another cosmic snipe hunt, just after the last one. I am getting sick, sick, sick of being the last great hope for the universe. I just want to get married and have kids and a good life somewhere with the man I love, and--" She flushed, turned, met Dev's eyes. "Sorry," she said. 

"Don't be, love," said Dev, touching her chin. "Not so far off from what I'd want, really, except it'd be with the woman I love." 

Lightray saw a sour expression cross Superman's face. But he knew enough not to ask questions. 

The Man of Steel turned back to Highfather. "Well, where were Moonrider's people last seen? And when?" 

Izaya said, "They were attacked by one of Darkseid's agents, called Devilance. He attacked them with an energy weapon, his lance. The Infinity Man was said to have appeared. There was an explosion and--none of them were seen again." 

"Oh, hell," said Dev. "Doesn't sound like you'd have to search for them very far. Just in a five-block radius for scattered parts, most likely." 

"That's--not what we think happened," Lightray responded. "In a later encounter with Darkseid, he tapped into the Infinity Man's power to try and penetrate the Source." 

"The Source?" asked Kara. 

"Yes," said Lightray. "I'll explain later. But if the Infinity Man's power still existed, then, most likely, so did the Forever People." 

"And one of them," said Superman, "has the Anti-Life Equation. Correct?" 

Highfather smiled at him. "No, Superman. Much more important. One of them has...the Life Equation." 

-S- 

Washington, D.C. of Earth-X had seen many strange things in its time, not the least of which was the invasion by Nazi forces and the execution of a sitting American president. It had seen its influx of super-heroes and villains over the years, too. But nothing had gone quite like this in the last 200-plus years of its existence. 

A flotilla of heroes in unfamiliar costumes had phased in through an aperture in the sky and was engaging the army of super-villains who had recently laid claim to the city. In time, the familiar faces of the Freedom Fighters joined their ranks. That was reassurring to those observers who saw them. But, with all the wholesale havoc being thrown around, from a level of several thousand feet on down to ground level, the smart thing to do was to take cover, preferably in someplace underground. To their credit, most Washingtonians were smart. 

Those who could sought out familiar faces in the crowd of suits and got to busting. Captain Marvel saw Captain Nazi on the wing and changed his face. The green-suited man with the white swastika on his chest dropped and splashed down on the Mall's waterway. Wally West, the second Flash, saw a big gorilla with a bandolier around his chest and a machine gun in his hand. He took him for Grodd and plowed into him. After running over him several times, Wally realized his mistake. The fur was the wrong color. It was M'sieu Mallah, of the Brotherhood of Evil. Wally had met him before. The error was forgiveable. Even on Earth-One, there weren't that many talking gorillas. 

The Icicle managed to get off a couple of blasts and popsicle a few heroes before Green Lantern of Earth-Two brought him down with a giant green cage, just for old times' sake. Unfortunately, a flying villain dropped the Floronic Man into the fray from above with pinpoint accuracy. Dr. Jason Woodrue was rather a reluctant participant, but knew his importance to the cause, and the effectivity of Apokoliptic defoilant should he fail. Alan Scott's ring wouldn't work against wood. Wood was the major component of Dr. Woodrue's body. Therefore, when Woodrue slammed into him from above, he was able to bring him crashing down to the ground and knock him cold. Another example of fitting the right man to the right job. 

However, Bulletman and Bulletgirl were hardly bothered by a wooden enemy, and, gravity-helmets fully charged, linked arms and smashed Woodrue across the breadbasket, or what served for one on him these days. They banged him into a lightpole and handcuffed his hands behind it. Woodrue attempted to summon The Green to his defense, but found out that on this world, The Green was leaving him on his own. 

Carol Ferris had insisted on accompanying her man, Hal, the original Green Lantern of Earth-One, in her guise as Star Sapphire. That was lucky, as the other Star Sapphire, Remoni-Notra of the old Secret Society of Super-Villains, was also on tap. The two got into a power-beam duel powered by purple jewels, and only a few observers (such as Hal, who had been around Carol long enough to distinguish her) knew who to root for. Hal had his own problems with Sonar, who was giving him havoc with his tuning-fork gun and hollering, "For Modora!" every time he scored a point. 

Eventually, Firestorm got tired of watching it, pinpointed an energy-beam, and blasted Sonar's gun to slag. The Sultan of Sound yelled in pain, dropping his weapon and blowing on his hand. Green Lantern hurtled forward, ring-fist upmost, and buried his knuckles in Sonar's pudding trough. He caught the falling villain in a green net and added, sardonically, "For Modora." 

The Gang, a band of four hapless villains who had once opposed Supergirl, found themselves faced by a beautiful woman in a white miniskirted costume and a jeweled tiara. "Let's mash her," suggested Bulldozer, the strongman of the group, and the other three decided it wasn't such a bad notion at that. 

Isis merely raised her arms and chanted. 

"Gravity by which Earth does bind,   
Loosen through the power of mind!" 

At that, the quartet of evildoers found themselves soaring upwards helplessly, which put some of the Justice Leaguers who were charter members in a nostalgiac reminescence of their first case with Dr. Destiny, when gravity ran wild. They were intercepted by a flying Captain Marvel, Jr, and Mary Marvel, who made short work of them and dumped them on a rooftop. Mary stood on the roof and waved to the sorceress. "Nice to have you back," she declared. 

"Even better to be back," beamed Isis. 

Not to be outdone, Uncle Sam and his band of Freedom Fighters joined the fray. Black Condor, the Ray, Usa, Phantom Lady, and the Human Bomb didn't know much about the out-of-town villains, but they recognized most of the heroes, and set about bashing anybody that didn't look familiar. In that, they did a lot of bashing, and did it rather well. This was their Earth, after all, and they had a reputation to uphold. 

But Mammoth of the Fearsome Five had a rep to maintain, as well, and sucker-punched Sam from behind, knocking him down. He tried a stomp to finish the job, but a six-inch soldier in a blue costume grabbed his foot, wrenched upward, and threw him onto his back. Doll Man stood over his foe, hands on hips. Mammoth started to get up. 

Usa was on the scene, but Sam, getting up himself, waved her back. He smiled, took off his hat and coat, and looked around. "Who wants to hold this?" 

The closest person to hand was a villain, Shimmer, Mammoth's sister. Sam held the articles of clothing out to her. "D'you mind, darling?" She didn't know what to say. He plumped the coat and hat in her arms. She watched him turn around, face Mammoth, and put up his dukes. 

"Okay, young feller," he said, "let's see what'cha got." 

Mammoth smiled, grinding one fist into an open palm, and stepped forward. 

A second or two later, he was propelled backwards into the arms of Mirror Master, who was of no help at all. Mammoth spit out blood. "What's he got in there, an invisible horseshoe or somethin'?" 

The Ray smiled. "You just wish." 

Sam stepped forward, landed a few more blows with the expertise of John L. Sullivan and the force of Joe Louis, and ended with an uppercut that put Mammoth on the far side of wakefulness. Shimmer, angrily, dropped the hat and coat and held out a hand to blast Sam with her molecular powers. Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Involuntarily, she turned her head. 

Usa bashed her in the face. After the redheaded villainess went down, she blew on her knuckles. Then she grinned at Sam, who was picking up his clothes. 

"Not a bad one for a girl," he grinned. 

Usa dropped her jaw. Phantom Lady strode up and shook a finger in his face. "Once this is over, Sam, you and I are going to have a long talk about your sexist attitudes. Believe it!" 

The Bomb smashed his hands together and bowled over several more Flash villains who were trying to crash the party. "Ladies, please!" he said, through the speaker unit of his hood. "We've still got business!" 

Black Lightning, chancing to look over the Bomb's head, did a double take. "Yeah," he muttered. "And business just got uglier." 

Antother hole in the sky was opening. It wasn't reinforcements for the heroes. 

Instead, it was a wave of blackness that separated into many humanoid, flying components as it hit the open air. The Shadow-Demons of Qward were unleashed. 

There was some relief to the blackness, as they saw when the wave neared them a bit. The Weaponers of Qward, the strange litle men who wielded red and yellow lightning bolts from quivers, were also among the shadows, riding their flying steeds. But in the lead was a being who did not hail from the anti-matter universe, and who, some guessed correctly, was their field commander. 

Firestorm unleashed an atomic bolt at the man in green and yellow before Green Lantern, who had fought him before, could tell him not to. Mantis ate up the destructive energy like candy, and glowed in parasitic power. 

"For Darkseid," he roared. "Attack!" 

-S- 

The motley crew which Jim Rook was beginning to think of as the Magic Squad had been transported by the powers of Amethyst, Jennifer Morgan, and Harbinger to a field in Salem which, Lyla had told him, was not on the Earth which he knew. A large tower without a door in it, which had seen some recent damage and repair, stood before them. Shade was emitting a horror-illusion now and then, indicating he wasn't any too happy with things. Mellu wasn't, either, but she told him to turn down his vest. 

"So," said Nightmaster, hefting his magic sword. "Do we just hang around, or ask directions to the next dragon stop, or what?" 

Harbinger looked at him coolly. "We await the arrival of the greatest human sorceror of the Multiverse," she said. "He asked me to bring you here." 

"If it makes you feel any better, Mr. Rook," said Amethyst, "I don't know much more about this than you do. I've been on my Earth, and on Gemworld, but not too many of these places in between." 

Jennifer put her arm around the girl's shoulder. "It's all right, Amy. Whatever comes, I have a feeling the six of us can handle it together. Even if we've never fought side-by-side." 

Mellu said, "Aren't you worried for that man of yours you told us about? And he, for you?" 

The Skartarian woman's face was a bit more strained. "I worry for him indeed, Mellu. And yes, he for me. But we're both warriors, and he has things to occupy him now. Harbinger took me from a scene of battle, with Travis's consent." 

Jim Rook spun the hilt of his blade in his hand, making it sing a bit more rapidly. "So, Miss Harbinger...what is this all about? Why are you operating this superhero temp service?" 

"Rook," said Shade, growing the left portion of his head into a monstrous after-image, "are all Earth swordsmen as irritating as you?" 

"Rac, please," said Mellu, laying a hand on his chest. 

Before Nightmaster could make an appropriately cutting remark, their attention was drawn by a nimbus of golden light in the air before the Salem tower. It resolved itself into the shape of a man in blue and gold, descending towards the grass below. Jim Rook knew enough about magicians to know he was in a presence most potent, and held his tongue. 

"Doctor Fate," said Harbinger, looking up. 

"Harbinger," responded the helmeted man. "I may take no more time than necessary. Battles rage on all our worlds. But you and your fellows must go to a place which I have visited only once before, and gain information from the one enthroned therein." 

"Enthroned?" asked Jim Rook. "Excuse me saying, but what wizard are we off to see, anyhow?" 

The helmeted head turned towards Nightmaster. It was not reassuring that he couldn't see eyes behind the holes in the helmet. 

"More than a wizard," said Dr. Fate. "Much more. By the powers of ancient Chaldea, I send you forth." 

He raised his hands. The golden cape billowed behind him, though there was no wind. The gold gloves glowed with the same light that had heralded his arrival. Within a second... 

...they were somewhere else. 

Somewhere grayish, misty, but still apparently enough like their own worlds to possess breathable air, and solid ground on which to stand. Unless it was only their spirits that were guests in that realm, with their bodies dormant elsewhere. 

There was only one other in that realm. He was, Nightmaster guesstimated, somewhere between twenty and twenty-five feet tall. He had long hair, a beard, a robe, and two eyes which glowed with mystic energy that might have dwarfed Dr. Fate's. 

He had been sitting somewhere, doing something. But now he saw them, and raised up. He seemed to take a long time doing so, and did not look overly pleased. Rook hefted his sword, and tried to take point, but Harbinger swept him back with her arm. 

"Who summons Oracle?" said the very tall man. 

"I am Harbinger, also called Lyla, and these are my allies," said the woman, standing foursquare before him. "We have been sent by Doctor Fate to gain information. The lives of five worlds are at stake." 

Oracle spoke again. 

"When those of your sort call me," he said, "they usually are." 

-S- 

Ugly Mannheim did not like, in any way, dealing with Apokolips. Except for the facts that they dealt in weapons more powerful than anything he could buy on the streets, they had money to burn and paid better even then the uptown crew, and he got to go places he'd never been before. 

Sometimes he had to go through one of those stupid holes that made a boom-boom. That was how he got here. He didn't like it, almost had to be pushed through it. But, hell, it was a job. He was being paid to do it. That was what Inter-Gang did. The hole would be there for him when the job was done. Not if. When. If Ugly Mannheim took on a job, it was always when. 

He didn't know what town he was in. From the looks of it, it was not unlike St. Louis, although it didn't have that crazy arch in the sky. All that he knew was the place where he was supposed to stand, with the damper-thing in his jacket to keep away something which he was assured was bigger than flies, and wait till the guy came out whose picture he had been given. 

He was loitering outside an office building. Out of it came, at about the time he had been told to expect him, the guy with red hair and a white streak in it. A great tell. With such a characteristic, one did not have to waste time sizing up too many prospects. 

There was a black-haired woman with him and she was a real looker. He could miss her, or throw her in for free. Ugly did not like to do things for free. He decided to miss her if at all possible. 

The guy turned his head as Ugly pulled out his piece. He could not have known what Ugly was about to do. Not without some kind of voodoo. What the hell. 

The trigger was pulled once, twice, three times in close succession. Good tight pattern. Right through the chest. Ugly shot him twice more just to make sure. 

The woman started to scream. The bystanders started to bystand. Ugly began to lam. 

Just as he turned, he thought he saw something boiling up from this Corrigan guy's body. Like it was full of green and white smoke or something. Like he was burning up inside from too much spicy Mexican food, maybe, if he ate such. Only it didn't come out too far. It just hung around him for a second or two, and went back in. 

Ugly rounded the corner. The hole was waiting for him. It went boom and glowed so that he wouldn't likely miss it. A delivery boy was between him and it. He bashed the boy across the side of the head with his piece and jumped inside the boom-hole. 

It went boom again and he went for the damned toboggan ride. 

Behind him, Madame Xanadu grasped Jim Corrigan's hand. She knew the reading had been exceptionally bad today for him, but both knew that what was inside him was sensible to danger, and could deal with it. 

Except for what had happened now. 

Now, the Spectre was all that was keeping Jim Corrigan alive, and he had to stay within him. 

The Tarot card mistress looked up at the most likely onlooker to help. "Call an ambulance," she said. "Now!" 

The man hesitated, then ran inside the door of a nearby shop to do just that. 

Jim Corrigan, for his part, lay unconscious while the thing inside of him tried to keep him from bleeding to death. 

To be continued...   



	12. Part 12:  The Cold and Warm Equations

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 12: The Cold and Warm Equations 

by DarkMark 

All in all, Hal Jordan thought it just wasn't fair. 

He and Carol Ferris had said "I do" in unison with Ollie Queen and Dinah Lance only days before this latest can of worms opened up. And that was only a short time after wrapping that big case with the JLA, the Outsiders, and the Titans against Kobra, and helping to save Selina Kyle's life to boot. 

At the very least, the universe owed him time off for a honeymoon. 

No such luck. There were more Green Lanterns on his Earth than ever before--himself, John Stewart, Katma Tui, Salakk, Ch'p, and Kilowog. Plus Alan Scott, when he was on-planet with the visiting JSA contingent. With all that, he was still needed to stand point against an army of super-villains. 

It could have been worse. He could have still been a civilian, his own ring relinquished to John Stewart. Instead, he was a Green Lantern again, thanks to the sacrifice of Tomar-Re. And as Green Lantern, he and the other heroes of the five closest-bound Earths had been called upon to fight off a seemingly endless array of bad guys on Earth-X. That he could have handled, especially with the mobilized mass of super-heroes at his side. In fact, they had been doing quite well against the enemy. 

That was before the hole in the sky opened up and the black wave poured out. 

The shadow-soldiers of the Anti-Monitor had laid their icy touch on hero after hero. The ones they touched fell, paralyzed, possibly close to death. Hal and his allies had fought back, and those with energy-wielding capacities had done well. Many of the shadows had been dissipated. 

But the shadows rode beside the Weaponers of Quard, those helmeted and wizened little men who drew lightning-shaped weapons from quivers on their back and blitzed the heroic armada with them. A large percentage of the villains hadn't been immobilized yet, either, and were rejoining the fray with their otherworldly allies. 

On top of that, there was Mantis, one of Darkseid's most powerful soldiers. Hal had faced him before, and hadn't come out too well in the encounter. 

A great way to spend an afternoon, to be sure. 

Green Lantern blasted away at a shadowy form trying to reach Changeling, who was in the form of a water buffalo, knocking Coldsnap, Heatstroke, and Cluemaster off their feet. He activated the function in his ring he'd willed to track Carol. It alerted him to her direction, and he turned in mid-air to see where she was. 

As Star Sapphire, Carol was on a building roof not far away, struggling against the other Star Sapphire who had been an alumnus of the Secret Society of Super-Villains. Both women had more-or-less equal powers and had given up an airborne fight in favor of a gruelling grapple and energy duel on a solid surface. Their opal forehead-gems blazed with energy and shot beams at each other, taxing each other's strength and endurance. All the while, Carol and Remoni-Notra were slugging, kneeing, and wrestling all over the roof. 

He didn't know Carol had it in her, until his brain called up memories of her fighting rivals in her Star Sapphire persona--an identity she didn't know she possessed until recently. Yep, she was a scrapper. But she was also his wife. 

"John," he called out to his fellow Lantern. "Cover me." 

"I'll try," Stewart replied, and fended off a Weaponer's bolt with a green shield as Hal flew quickly towards the fighting Sapphires. 

He wanted to call her name. But any distraction from the battle might be dangerous for her, he knew. But as he grew closer, he saw Remoni-Notra grasping Carol under the chin with one hand, and pointing at him with the other. He could tell the women apart, and he could also see that Carol was getting the worst of it. 

As the green beam lanced out from his power ring, Hal reminded himself that it probably wasn't a death fight between them. As vicious as Zamaron fighting could be, the warrior women only fought to establish supremacy over one another. But this time, they'd have to put it on hold. 

A purple transparent dome formed over the women and Green Lantern's blast glanced off it. Remoni had done it, in the second's interval between triggering and impact. Carol bunched her knees against Remoni's chest and thrust with her legs, shoving her opponent against the wall of the force-field. She turned momentarily to Hal, and shouted, "No!" 

"What?" he asked, stunned despite himself. 

The enemy Sapphire was blasting Carol again with her withering power. "She wants you to stay out of it, Lantern," snarled the girl who could have been Carol's twin. "This fight is between us!" 

"Like hell," said Hal, and began to form a gigantic hammer and chisel to crack the dome. 

That was when the image of a little blue, white-haired man in a red robe with a green lantern symbol on the chest appeared to him. 

"Green Lantern of Sector 2814," said the Guardian. "Your services, and those of your fellow Corps members, are needed." 

"Just a minute!" A great green hand, issuing from his beam, grasped the gigantic hammer he had formed and banged the chisel with it. The tip of the emerald chisel cracked the purple dome, not penetrating yet. 

"The situation is critical," the Oan informed him. "Sinestro has liberated the prisoners on our detention world from their Sciencells. Our intelligence indicates he has united them with what remains of the Black Lanterns of Qward and of his once-active Counter-Lantern Corps. Korugar is under attack." 

"Send others," Green Lantern snapped, bashing the chisel again. The crack grew wider, but Carol and Remoni were still fighting it out. "Honored sir, I don't have time to talk! Five Earths are under attack!" 

"We are aware of this," said the Guardian. "But there are heroes aplenty on this world, even though it is being attacked by--" 

"And all those heroes are being cut down like wheat! What am I supposed to do, let them die?" 

"If you choose against us, Hal Jordan of Earth, the privelages you have so recently hard-won may be revoked." The Guardian wasn't kidding. Hal could tell. 

He sighed, smashing the chisel again. "Leave half the Corps members we have here on Earth where they are. They're needed, blast it." 

"Agreed," said the Guardian. "But you must choose, and now." 

One more smash, and Hal activated another track of his ring's power. "Arisia, Kat, John, Kilowog, Salaak, Ch'p, listen up," he broadcast. "Half of us are bound for Korugar. Sinestro and company are on the loose. Half of you have to stay here and fight the enemy. John, Kat, Ari, you're coming with me. The rest of you...hold the line. If you can." 

"There's a lotta these Qward poozers, but we'll hold 'em," Kilowog sent. "Go to it, Hal." 

"My homeworld under attack?" came Katma Tui's sending. "Shastra! After the devastation it has already suffered! By whom? Sinestro?" 

"And a cast of thousands, probably," said Hal. "Join with me. We're space-warp bound, and I don't like it any more than you do." 

"We'll manage, Hal Jordan," piped up Ch'p, the squirrel Green Lantern. "We can twist these guys' tails as well as you can." 

"I hope so, Ch'p," Hal replied. "I really, really hope so." 

With a final stroke, Green Lantern's great chisel smashed open the purple dome. He separated the women with a green wall, and snatched up Carol with a huge pair of tongs around her middle. She yelped. "Wait! I...we haven't finished yet!" 

"This battle is on hold," Hal said evenly, dragging her and himself into the sky, "until we get back." A Weaponer threw a crimson bolt at them. He sent out a beam that deflected it into a shadow-warrior. 

Remoni-Notra sent a purple ray towards them, but it burst short of its target. She telepathed furiously to them via her opal gem: We will finish this when you return, Carol Ferris. Just you and myself.> 

Count on it, darling,> retorted Carol. 

Green Lantern broadcast a short telepathic message to those heroes still standing, telling them why he and several others had to break away. An instant later, he phased them both into the Earth-One universe. Reassuringly, the globe was still there beneath them, though it was impossible to tell from this height what conditions were on its surface. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. 

Not far below them, John Stewart, Katma Tui, and Arisia phased into existence on the Earth-One plane and followed their fellow Lantern and his wife. 

Hal and Carol didn't stop their progress towards a space-warp leading closer to Korugar. 

But they telepathed conversation to each other along the way. 

Did you ever think you'd actually...> Carol began. 

Hal looked at her. Finish it,> he stated. 

...enjoy seeing me in this outfit, with these powers, again?> she sent. 

If you'd asked me that question when your bad side had won over, and you joined forces with Hector Hammond and Guy Gardner, no,> Hal replied. Wasn't that long ago, either.> 

But we had that battle since then,> said Carol. Most important...I had that battle with myself. I had to keep harboring my Predator-self, and deny my...everything I was that was good, that was...> She fumbled, even telepathically. You know what I'm saying.> 

He put an arm about her, as they neared the edge of the warp. Yeah. But you did expel him. And you told the Zamarons you were coming with me, and they should give the throne to Remoni instead.> 

But she insists on fighting for it,> thought Carol. That's the Zamaron way.> 

And we insist on fighting for what we must protect,> sent Hal. 'Cause that's the Green Lantern way.> 

Even after a quarter of you have died? Even after Guy Gardner, and what he did?> 

Because of those things, and because of the Guardians who died... more than ever,> thought Hal. But not more than this.> 

As they entered the warp, Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris kissed. 

Seeing it, Katma Tui and John Stewart merged fields and did the same. 

Arisia just sighed, and followed the rest of them into sub-space. 

-S- 

"The Life Equation?" Supergirl repeated. 

Highfather nodded to her, fingering his staff. "Yes. It is not spoken of outside of our highest circles. But Darkseid knows of it, and so do I. So do the rest of you, now." 

Superman said, "Izaya, if this is too great a burden of knowledge, I can use super-hypnotism to wipe it from our minds. Even from my own." 

Dev said, "El, before you do anything like that, let's at least find out what it is. I want to know what we're supposed to be forgetting." 

Lightray looked discomfited. "Highfather, great milord, even I have never heard of this concept before. Should I--" 

"Because you had no need to know it, Sollis," said Izaya, cutting him off in a louder voice. "Now, do not interrupt. Let this old man tell you all what you need to know. And you, Superman, speak no more of erasing memories. These words I give you all in trust. So? More interruptions?" 

Kara looked at the three males and was glad to know that all had decided to shut up. 

"In this universe there operates a principle of duality," Izaya continued. "Matter / anti-matter. Good / evil, heat / cold, left / right...much a creation of extremes. No force without an opposing force. Action, and equal and opposite reaction. Yet neither remains in stasis, and each is necessary. For without evil to oppose it, good itself would become unbound, perverted, and evil...power unto itself. And without good to oppose it, evil would conquer all, become lethargic...perhaps the very paradise Darkseid unknowingly craves. No? But I digress. 

"Most recently, in the war you have concluded, or thought to have concluded, you learned of two great opponents whose energies spanned many realities. Monitor and Anti-Monitor, thesis and antithesis. Over 1,000 universes, by our reckoning, perished. And that only in the positive realm. I have no way of knowing how many anti-matter realms perished. But Qward, the one which the Anti-Monitor ruled, yet remains." 

Supergirl took a deep breath to calm herself. She could never hear of that world without remembering that she had almost died there, and that the Superman of Earth-Two had perished, seemingly in her place. 

"Now: how the Anti-Life Equation was conceived, what beings or being discovered it, we have no knowledge. Only legends. Some say that it came into being as a result of Krona's great sin, billions of years ago, in which he sought to learn the origin of the Universe. Others, that it fell from a great emerald that in turn fell from an evil being's brow. Nothing definite. It exists, in parts. A handful of beings throughout the universe, perhaps throughout the multiverse, have pieces of it. They exercised control, in their time, over few or many beings. Few suspected the true source of their sway, not even those who possessed it. And only a few, a very, very few, knew of this power, and more: that, when pieced together, spoken in an incantation of sorts, conceived as an equation...the speaker, if powerful enough, would gain all-power over sentient will." 

Kal said, "We've known most of this for years, Izaya. If you could--" 

"The Life Equation, yes," said Izaya. "Do you not see, Superman? The Life Equation has been in existence since Life itself...and you never suspected it. Without it, you would have no free will. It is said to have been spoken at the creation of reasoning life, perhaps making the evolution to reasoning life possible. But that, too, is a legend. This we know: the Life Equation exists." 

Dev sighed, leaned on one knee and rubbed his brow. "Right. So this is the thing that lets us decide whether or not we want to run a stop signal. Your point?" 

Highfather turned blazing eyes upon him. Lightray quickly said, "Your apology, outworlder. Quickly. Please." 

"Dev," said Kara, hurriedly, getting between the rising Highfather and Dev. Superman stepped forward himself in concern. For his own part, Dev-Em shook his head. "I'm not meaning much disrespect, guv, but really. This cosmic-level crap has been getting topheavy of late. We've just gotten back from saving the universe...well, Kara did, I had to help save Rokyn..." 

Superman snapped his head towards Dev. "You saved Rokyn? How?" 

"Oh, Dev, you idiot," said Kara, grabbing her hair with both hands. "With a mouth like yours, how did you ever get to be a spy?" 

"Because we're all friends here, Kara, aren't we?" 

Highfather's hand was glowing with power. "If we were not of one cause here, outworlder, you would see why the Alpha Bullets are no less feared than the Omega Effect. For the moment, I shall overlook your--insolence." 

Dev moved towards Izaya, hand outstretched. "Look, minister, I'm sorry for having put you off your top. Wasn't intentional. We've just been taking a bit of a bashing lately, and, well, sitting and listening when we really ought to be up and abo--" 

He grasped Highfather's glowing hand. 

A second later, he shot right across the room and found himself buried halfway through the stone wall. 

Supergirl hurtled over to help extract him, as did Superman, a nanosecond later. Dev looked like a man who had briefly touched an unshielded electrical socket. "Oh, dear," he mumbled. 

"Are you all right?" said Kara, feeling his pulse to make sure. 

"Forgive me, sir," said Highfather, coming towards Dev, who was brushing stone dust off his shoulders and head. "I should have warned you not to touch my hand before my power level was sufficiently reduced." 

"You're telling me," said Dev-Em. "Still, no harm done. Everything square?" 

Highfather looked blank. Lightray said, "I believe he means, 'Are things well between us?', sire." 

The ruler of New Genesis smiled. Laying a hand on Dev's shoulder, he said, "I forgive your outburst, young sir, if you forgive mine." 

"Done, brother." 

Superman smiled. "Carry on, Highfather. I think we'll all be more attentive now." 

Izaya leaned with both hands on his staff. "The ruler of New Genesis has always learned of the Life Equation. The rulers of both New Genesis and Apokolips have learned of the Anti-Life Equation, though Darkseid knows my secret as well thanks to his damnable talent of monitoring. When we ascended to our present status, both Darkseid and I were taught these things. The Apokoliptics had been searching for Anti-Life for generations. Darkseid's methods are better than his predecessors, however. He is...ever-closer to it than before. Previously, he only encountered those among whom a particle of the Equation was scattered. Now..." He waved one hand. "We are working against time, and with waning hope." 

"We've done that many times before," Supergirl reminded him. "And we've always won." 

"And may you triumph again, O Supergirl," said Izaya. "But have you ever battled Darkseid?" 

"Once," she said. "It was a terrible experience." 

Lightray nodded, in understanding. 

"But I'm getting used to terrible experiences," she continued. "I've almost died twice over, recently. Let's hope three times is not the charm." 

"Kara," Kal reminded her. "Highfather isn't finished yet." 

"No," said the Celestial. "Despite Darkseid's best efforts, I am not yet finished. Whereas the Anti-Life Equation has been scattered mostly among a multitude of beings, the Life Equation has been the property of only one being, who knows not the possession of it. I am not that being. Metron has tested me for it, and I have not its knowledge. But I have come to know who it is who does possess it." 

"Who?" asked Supergirl. 

"The Life Equation, moreover, will be of no use unless the Anti-Life Equation is spoken beforehand," continued Highfather. "Speaking a formula of Free Will into a cosmos that already has been given free will would be trying to make water more wet. The being who possesses the Formula of Freedom must be found and guarded. For if she is not recovered, before Darkseid can find her, and perhaps destroy her...when Anti-Life is spoken, there will be no alternative to his will." 

"But, if this Life Equation is eternal," protested Superman, "then surely killing one person wouldn't destroy it. Like energy, it couldn't be destroyed." 

"Yes, Superman, but we would not know the possessor of that knowledge," said Izaya. "She must be made aware that she possesses it, to employ it." His face grew more sober. "Indeed, she might not survive the unleashing of it." 

"'She.' 'She.' 'She,'" snapped Kara. "Forgive me, Highfather, but you've ignored my question and implied several times over now that you know who has the Life Equation. Well, who is it?" 

Highfather looked her deeply in the eye before answering. 

"It is Dreema," he said. "The one known on your world, for whatever reason, as 'Beautiful Dreamer.'" 

Superman's jaw dropped. When he could speak again, he said, "Holy sun and Mother Moon. Then that's why Darkseid had kidnapped her, when I first met Big Bear and his friends. He thought she had the Anti-Life Equation." 

"Wasn't off by much, I guess," contributed Dev. 

"When she and Mark Moonrider's band were lost to this universe, beyond mine or Darkseid's tracing, the threat to her was effectively nulled," continued Izaya. "I knew she had the Equation. He did not. He only knew she had not what he was seeking at the time, and because he sought the wrong thing, he bypassed the chance at more power, unknowingly." 

Supergirl said what all three of the Kryptonians now had figured out. "So now, you want us to find the Forever People. So that we can get Dreema, and keep her out of Darkseid's hands." 

"If you can," said Highfather. "In this undertaking, you will be asked to do something even Metron has been unable to do." 

Superman said, "We'll do it. But one question. What about Orion?" 

Highfather paused. "He is the other pole of the axis. Though you are unable to recover him...I am not idle on his behalf. Enough has been said. Can you help us? Can you help...me?" 

The Man of Steel said, "Tell us exactly when the battle between the Forever People and Devilance occurred. We have to know." 

"Why?" asked Lightray. 

Supergirl turned to him. "Because, if I'm reading Kal right...we're going to go back there." 

-S- 

Tigra sprawled on the stones of the cell into which Darkseid had shoved her. They were alone. Mongul and the Kryptonite Man were separated from them by a wall. 

"Take a look," ordered Darkseid. "Do you remember him?" 

She lifted her head to look upon the unconscious Celestial in the red and gray costume, trapped by a beam on the metal table. "Of course. Of course I remember him. How could I not remember my son?" 

"Our son, Tigra. Ours. Never forget that point." He grasped her head in one great hand and exerted unpleasant pressure. "Never forget that." 

Tigra, her hands and legs fastened by shackles and chains, reached up her hand to touch her offspring. Darkseid struck her hand down before it could make contact. She cried out in pain, and wept, holding her hand. "Why? Why are you doing this to me?" 

Darkseid put his hand in her hair, almost gently, and answered her. 

"Because he has something I want," he said. "And I think you might help me get it from him." 

To be continued...   



	13. Part 13:  Choosing Paths

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

by DarkMark 

Part 13: Choosing Paths 

They got Jim Corrigan into the emergency room too late. 

But it still wasn't too late. 

That was one of the big things that puzzled the doctors. By all rights, a guy who had a bullet puncturing his aorta, the kind that made a bigger hole when it went out than when it went in, should have been toe-tagged down in the morgue already. 

Jim Corrigan wasn't dead. His blood was still liquid, and it was still managing somehow to be pumped weakly by a heart that should have kicked over hours ago. He was still breathing, he was under an oxygen tent, and if he wasn't conscious, that was probably a blessing. 

How long it would take him to die was a subject of the utmost concern to the hospital's gambling pool, and the wagers were as high as any they had seen in its existence. 

The other things that puzzled them were the people who had come to the bedside of Jim Corrigan to keep the woman with him company. Ostensibly, they all looked normal. But they all had the mien of people you might see on a bad Stephen King movie adaptation. Except for the guy in the blonde buzz-cut, who had to be told repeatedly not to smoke in Corrigan's room and who was regarded as a true jerk by the entire staff. 

When they asked who the sitting committee was, the guy had said, "My name's Constantine. John Constantine. These guys, they're my friends. Mostly. We all know Corrigan." 

If the staff had been around to hear the newcomers talk among themselves the way they did when the medics weren't in the room, they might have picked up some identity pointers. Like when John Constantine said, "Stranger. I'm gonna go get him." 

The man whose face seemed always in shadow turned to the Englishman, not saying anything. 

Dr. Occult, who was pushing 80 years of age, made fists in his coat pockets. "That's not a good idea, John. He doesn't need to see this, that early in the game." 

"Bugger that," said Constantine. "He's seen a helluva lot more than I did at his age. If he was gonna be a doctor, and his dad was, the old man'd probably have him visiting the emergency room to see what was what. Same thing here. Maybe he can be of help. Or maybe we can help him." 

"Help him?" said Occult. "How?" 

The Phantom Stranger spoke. "I believe I see Constantine's reasoning. In this time of chaos, others may use the opportunity to capture the boy. If we bring him here, at least we can offer him protection." 

"My thinking exactly," said Constantine, scratching his face. 

Occult paused, then looked at Madame Xanadu. "What do you think, Madame?" 

The beautiful black-haired woman kept her hand on Corrigan's. "Let him." 

Occult pointed a finger at Constantine. "If the boy is harmed by this sight, Constantine, I will hold you responsible. Personally. And I was a practicioner long before you were born." 

"I'll keep that in mind, mate," said Constantine, as he began to conjure a portal. 

"No. Keep something else in mind," said Occult. "Zatara and Sargon." 

Constantine didn't say anything or look at Occult as he stepped into the Earth-One universe. 

Several minutes later he returned with a young teenaged boy in hand. The portal closed behind them. Tim Hunter looked agog. "Stranger, and Dr. Occult," he said, hoarsely. "And, you're Madame Xanadu. But..." 

"Tim," said the Stranger, in a gentle voice. 

The youth was already at the bedside, placing his hands on the plastic where it covered the railing. "I remember him. That's Jim Corackle. What happened?" 

"Somebody shot 'im," said Constantine. "Somebody who didn't fancy seein' the Spectre takin' a hand in what's been happenin' lately." 

Tim turned his head to look at the four others. "Where...is the Spectre?" 

Madame Xanadu said, "Inside him, Tim. Keeping him alive. Even with our power added, it seems a losing task." 

"So...why am I here?" 

"To keep you safe from those who may seek you," said the Stranger. 

"Or maybe to get you to lend us a hand," said Constantine. "Course, it's up to you. I can understand if it's too much, at your age. I can take you back." 

Tim said, wonderingly, "I can help?" 

"Maybe," said Constantine. 

The boy swallowed, hard. "Show me how." 

Occult said, "Damn you, Constantine." 

"You're a little late for that, Doc," remarked the Brit. 

Madame Xanadu, touching Tim Hunter's shoulder, began to tell him what he should do. 

-S- 

One of the tricks of time-travel to a point at which you were alive was to say a bit out of synch with the moment to which you had travelled. This was a bit that required vibrating one's body at just the right pitch, as if one were a human tuning fork. Nobody without super-powers could do it, and few of them could. 

Superman, Supergirl, and Dev-Em were among that category. 

It was not so many years back in the past as to be hard to dredge up from memory, even without the super-augmentation of a Krypt under a yellow sun. No, this was only a year or so after the New Gods had made their presence known on Earth. The locale was an apartment building in Metropolis, and not one of the nicer-looking ones. Kara wrinkled her nose. 

"They lived here?" she asked. 

"According to what Highfather told us, yes," said Superman. 

So, like denizens of the Phantom Zone, Kara, Kal, and Dev descended intangibly to the sidewalk, unconsciously avoiding running children, women with bags of groceries, a tired mailman, a beat cop, and the like. Dev ran one hand through his hair, impatiently. "Never did like this century. Never. So mundane, so ugly..." 

BOOM. 

The sound made all three of them start, even as they swung their heads towards its source: a circle of glowing light. A Boom Tube. This, they knew. But the Tube was, impossibly, rammed into the side of the building, not harming it, existing in a plane probably not distant from the one they now occupied. However, when someone emerged from it, he would be rock-solid in this dimension. 

"Up there," said Superman, and the three of them launched themselves up to the third floor wall, and through it. 

Battle. 

There were the five strangely-garbed youths, the ones Superman knew as the Forever People. Amongst them was a strange, almost flat-faced male, helmeted and clothed in a short-sleeved white shirt and red gloves, boots, and trunks. But his flesh and clothes seemed to gleam like metal, and he bore in his hands a strange, gleaming, multi-edged spear. 

"Must be Devilance," said Kara, watching the five young New Genesites avoid his deadly thrusts. 

Big Bear, the largest of the Forever People, got his hands on Devilance's spear-haft and tried to wrest it away. The hunter from Apokolips lifted the spear and threw Big Bear overhead, smashing him into a wall. Vykin the Black tried to rush their foe and got clouted over the head. 

At that moment, a cop kicked in the door and entered the room, with two of his fellows. The three of them pulled guns on Devilance. He responded by thumbing a button on his spear and, holding tightly to it, jetting out of the smashed window on a propulsion stream even the Krypts couldn't fathom. 

There was a rush of air and a pinging that faded out in the room he had left behind. Superman, Supergirl, and Dev saw the Forever People had placed their hands on their Mother Box and been teleported away. The police, and the woman who was the Forever People's landlady, looked back to see empty space where five people had been. 

Kara said, "Teleportation. Great. So how do we find them now?" 

Superman was already phasing through the wall. "By following him," he said. 

"You had to ask, Kara," said Dev, already following. Supergirl grumbled and caught up to the two of them. Devilance was easy enough to find with telescopic vision. 

The hunter of Darkseid made a low-level flight path over the outskirts of Metropolis, catching some notice but moving too quickly for it to be of any consequence to him. Some seventy miles past the city limits, in an area once mined for coal, Devilance's spear sent vibrations of a certain sort to him. The spot was desolate. He descended, touched ground, pushed his shaft's head into the ground, and triggered its energies. 

An explosion. 

Superman, Supergirl, and Dev watched as the ceiling of the mineshaft collapsed, creating a hole through which Devilance descended. Mark Moonrider, the leader of the young Celestials, waved his friends away, then pointed both his hands forward and sent an energy blast of his own--his "megaton touch"--towards Devilance. The Apokoliptic dodged its path, but the burst did what Moonrider intended it to do. The ground underneath Devilance became a lava pit, dragging him down. By the time he pulled himself free, the Forever People had phased out again. 

It didn't matter. 

Devilance was still on their trail, unknowingly tracked by the wraithlike forms of the three Kryptonians. This time the lance led him to a remote Pacific island to which the Forever People had come. Battle was joined again, but this time Serifan, he of the cowboy outfit, plucked a "cosmic cartridge" from his hatband, touched Devilance with it from behind, and watched him fall, a frozen statue, to the ground. 

The five of them walked away. 

"What are they doing?" asked Supergirl. "They can't just leave him there." 

Dev looked at her, grimly. "I would imagine, Kara, they're deciding whether or not to let him live." 

"Oh," said Kara. "Hadn't considered that before." 

"Probably they hadn't, either," said Dev, "until he forced the issue." 

But Devilance was able to shake off the cold as well, thanks to his weapon's power. He confronted them again. In response, the Forever People performed a ritual. The Mother Box levitated from their grasp, rising to a spot six feet off the ground. All of them were able to place their hands on its sides, and say one word in unison: 

"TAARU!" 

A burst of light. 

Superman gaped. He had seen it before, the day he met them. But even Devilance was taken aback by the phenomenon. Dev and Kara weren't far behind, in their reaction. 

The five Forever People were gone. In their stead stood the Infinity Man. 

The Infinity Man was at least eight feet tall, orange-fleshed, helmeted and visored, clad in dark blue, and seemed to be as powerful as a god. He fought Devilance in the Forever People's stead, with power far beyond their own. The two combatants grasped the lance between them, each trying to wrest it from the other. Not surprisingly, its energies were set off. 

The discharge destroyed the entire island. 

Kara instinctively used her vision powers to filter out the blinding light, enabling her to see what went on in the blast's epicenter. Kal and Dev were undoubtedly doing the same. But it was difficult to interpret. 

Devilance's body was torn asunder. It was not pretty to look at, and he was vaporized quickly after. 

But the Infinity Man seemed to dissipate in a burst of light, and was not seen again. 

Steaming rocks fell into the ocean for a half-mile's radius. The waters closed over most of what had been the island, and bubbled from its heat. What was left was of no use to anyone. 

"So," said Dev, "that's the way this ends up." 

"Not quite," said Kara. "Highfather is sure they survived. That means they're probably in another dimension." 

"Which we might be able to locate," Superman said, "if we can attune ourselves to the vibratory rate, if we can pick up any traces of it here." 

"That's why we're here, Kal," said Supergirl, and flew ghostlike over the island-that-was. A few moments later, she called back to the other two. "I think I've got it," she said. 

"Wait for us," said Kal, as he and Dev flew to join her. She was standing over the spot where the Forever People had last existed. Holding out her hands to the men, she said, "Ready?" 

Dev and Kal took one of her hands apiece. "Ready," they echoed. 

Both of them attuned themselves to the vibrations Kara was adapting herself to. Within instants, their out-of-synch selves had phased into a sideral dimension. 

Their feet hovered just above a planet not unlike Earth. 

Except that it was far more beautiful, more forest-like, more picturesque, than Earth had been in the times they had dwelt there. Even Dev was affected by it. 

"Rao help us," he breathed. "If I ever get tired of technology, this is where I'll live." 

"Not a bad idea at that," said Kara. 

"Forget that, you two," barked Kal. "We've still got a job to do. Look. Do you see them?" 

They looked where he was pointing. The five Forever People were standing in a road, consulting among themselves. The Celestial children seemed as satisfied as the Kryptonians with their new surroundings. After a short time of talk, the quintet joined hands and walked off, in a line. They followed the road to the horizon and were gone. 

Superman looked at his two companions. "So now we know where they are. If they're still here, that is." 

"Can we just stay here, and travel ahead till we're back in our own time?" asked Dev. "Seems like the easiest way to me." 

"I think so, too," said Kara. "Let's give it a try, guys." 

The threesome spun themselves at a velocity exceeding light. As they sensed themselves nearing the time from which they had set out, they altered their bodies' internal vibrations. By the time the color nimbi of temporal travel had faded from Supergirl's eyes, she felt her booted feet standing on the grassy soil of Adon, and smelled its fresh, clean air. 

"Ah," she said. "This beats anything in Chicago. Not a smog alert for the whole planet, I'll bet." 

They saw a horse-drawn wagon with hay on it, plodding down the road the Forever People had taken years ago. Kara saw Kal looking at it, with a strange and clear nostalgia. He just stood there for several seconds, taking it in. She touched his arm. "Kal?" 

He looked at her, then shook his head. "Forget it." 

"No," she said. "What did it remind you of?" 

Superman sighed. "Of a farm. In Smallville. Come on. Let's go find the Forever People." 

The teamster had been trying to keep himself awake during the trip to Five Bridges City, a few miles down the road. Actually, the horses had been down this road so often that they could have probably made the trip without his direction. That was fine by him. Drop off this load at market, take something back that New City needed. God only knew what they needed, with those five strangers having been there so long. After them, there probably wasn't anything new to see. 

Then his horses neighed and began trotting so fast he almost pitched back into the wagon behind him. 

As he grabbed the reins to hang on, his eyes caught sight of three figures flying overhead. 

He kept his eyes straight on the road all the way to Five Bridges. 

-S- 

Oracle had finished telling his guests what they needed to know. "Your pathway is clear," he said, looking at Amethyst, Jennifer Morgan, Shade, Mellu, and Nightmaster. "It is up to you to walk it." 

Dr. Fate's golden helmet gleamed as he stepped forward. "Then our thanks be to you, Oracle. I'll see credit done you at the end of this battle. Come, my friends, in the name of Zoro..." 

"Hold, Fate," said Oracle. 

The humans and not-so-humans looked at their towering host. 

"What?" said Nightmaster. "Did you just tell Mr. Helmet here to hold up? What for?" 

"Because of this," said Oracle, and held out both of his hands, palms up. In each of them was a vision. 

On one hand, the heroes of a multiverse did battle with the villains of five worlds and more. They seemed to be hard-pressed, even being forced back along many fronts. 

On the other, several figures gathered about a hospital bed in which a red-haired man with a white streak in his hair lie dormant. 

Fate looked at the images in both of Oracle's hands. Then, with only a second's pause, he said to his charges, "You must go alone. I must help my friend." Saying it, he plunged forward, onto the hand which held the bedside scene, and Oracle closed his hands. When he opened them, both visions were gone. 

Jennifer Morgan paused. "He is lost to us, then?" 

Oracle said, "Until his task is done, yes. Yours is beginning. If you choose it." 

Shade muttered, "As if we had a choice." 

Amethyst touched her power jewel. "I guess I can get us where we need to go. But I could use a hand, Ms. Morgan." 

Jennifer smiled, a bit warily, and held out her arms. "You can have both of mine." The two grasped hands, and the mystic energies coursed through them both, enveloping them and the ones who had come with them. 

In a few more seconds time, the five were gone. 

Oracle turned away from where they had been. He was not alone. 

Behind him stood a figure in a brown cloak, bearing a large, heavy book bound to him by chains. 

"I am glad you didn't show yourselves to them," remarked Oracle. 

"I only reveal myself when I choose to," replied Destiny. 

"Are the Endless lowering themselves to mortal participation again?" said Oracle, in a voice which held more than a hint of condescension. 

The Keeper of the Book showed no emotion to the other. 

"When have we ever stopped?", he said. 

-S- 

Pariah lifted his head. He didn't know that he particularly wanted to. 

It would probably be easy enough to distinguish waking from sleeping. If the nightmares were more intense, he was probably awake. 

His body was still under a stasis beam. Its focus was diminished about his head, to give him the power to scream. Pariah didn't know that he particularly wanted to. His throat was hoarse and probably bleeding. The space beyond him looked black as onyx. 

That, in a way, was relieving. That meant Desaad hadn't yet started up his engines of fear. 

He didn't know how the man could wring more terror out of him every time. By the end of the first session, he would have sworn that no fright was left in him at all. He was wrong. The next four sessions had proven that. 

There was a hand, whitely violating the darkness. 

In another seconds time, the hand swept away the darkness. 

"Pariah," said Zatanna. "Pariah, can you hear me?" 

He looked at the ones who had come for him. Were they real, or just more of Desaad's taunting illusions? 

All of them women. Zatanna, the witch from Earth-One. Harbinger, the Monitor's aide. The woman from Earth-6, who was called Lady Quark. And the tall, armored woman with the power-club, who, he believed, was named Big Barda. 

Harbinger rushed forward to try and touch him. He gathered his strength to speak one word: "No." With a pained expression, she realized why he had spoken the word, and stopped before she could be caught in the stasis beams above him. 

Zatanna was already preparing for backwards-speak, but Lady Quark said, "No. Let me," and, pointing her hands, loosed a bolt of nuclear power at the beam-device. It sparked, flamed, burned out. The yellow beams holding Pariah prisoner faded away. 

"I," said the wearied scientist, almost convinced now that this was not a dream. "You," he said, feeling the great weight lift from his chest, his arms, his legs. 

Harbinger, a smile in her eyes that held more than friendship, held out her hand to him. 

An instant later, the wall burst apart and Mongul, wasting no time on introductions, smashed Quark and Zatanna unconscious with one massive arm and Harbinger with the other. The girl in blue and red spun away from Pariah and rebounded from a wall, lying like a broken doll. 

Pariah, anger starting from somewhere deep in his engine room and finding itself a welcome substitute from fear, tried to spring from his bed of terror. But all he could manage was to roll himself off the table and fall sprawling to the floor. 

He tried crawling towards Mongul, but Big Barda was already in action. Her power-club was activated, and she smashed it with terrific force against Mongul's neck. It should have seared his flesh, should have knocked him unconscious or at least away with its great impact. 

But it didn't. She did not expect it to. All that she knew was that she would not be brought down, or fail her fellows, without a fight. So Barda managed two more strikes before Mongul backhanded her, lightly, and made the pattern of white and black arrange itself in her skull. 

Mongul stood among the unconscious women. Pariah, on hands and elbows, could see that. He could also see someone else, visible in the room beyond, grinning that sickly grin. 

"You," he rasped, and was trying to raise himself upright when Mongul grabbed him in both hands. 

"Gently, Mongul," cautioned Desaad. "You may hold him, but not hurt him. Remember, I told you about his feedback effect?" 

"You told me," said the planetary conqueror. "Tell me when I get to tear Superman's head from his body." 

"Bring him along," said Desaad. "Didn't they think we know enough to set alarm devices in such places as need them? Especially here? Don't hold him too tightly, Mongul." 

"I was not meant for this!" roared Mongul. "I was meant for conquest!" 

"And so you'll have it, oh yes, indeed," Desaad assured him, turning his back and walking down the hall. "Come along, come along. I've got a lot of equipment to get in shape if we expect to keep any sort of schedule, you know." 

Mongul, holding Pariah like a toy, said, "What of the women?" 

"Oh, they'll be attended to, yes, indeed. Now, will you come with me or are you going to stand there all day roaring like an industrial vent-pipe? The Master wants more results with this one, and I want to have my fun, oh, yes, indeed." 

Mongul silently trudged along behind Desaad, hoping that, within the week, he'd be allowed to pulp the man's head to the consistency of a burst fruit. 

Pariah looked back on the fallen women one last time. They had dared great danger to rescue him. They had failed, and were now at Darkseid's mercy. Whatever there was of that. 

He realized that the fear had left him almost entirely. Instead there was a large quantity of dry   
ice, representing hatred. And the lust for revenge. 

Mongul wondered for a moment, as he carried Pariah into Torture Chamber B, why the man was smiling. 

But only for a moment. He found himself thinking of the women. True, they were not of his kind, but at least they were of the opposite sex. True, he'd have to get permission from Darkseid. But he doubted he'd be denied. 

And, contemplating that, Mongul found himself smiling. 

To be continued...   
  



	14. Part 14:  To Find Forever

  
Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 14: To Find Forever 

by DarkMark 

Orion had just finished telling his father to go to hell. Darkseid answered, "My son. Do you not know that, in this setting, such a request is redundant?" Then he seared him with a mild burst of Omega Effect. Orion thought he could withstand the pain without screaming. He was wrong. 

Stronger than his screaming, though, was the one which came from his mother, Tigra. "Stop it! Stop it! Is it not enough you have him? Is it not enough, even for you?" 

The monarch of Apokolips turned, almost gracefully. "No," he said. "When a universe is to be won...when, indeed, the Multiverse is to be won...it is not enough." 

Tigra fell to her knees and wept. Then she got as near to her son as could be allowed without suffering another blow from her onetime husband. "My son," she said. "If you...if you have what he wants...if you have the Equation..." 

Darkseid waited, his arms folded. 

"...never give it to him," she finished. 

He dealt her a blow that stretched her upon the floor. Then he loomed as close as he could to Orion, without getting in the path of the stasis beam. 

"You will give me the Anti-Life Equation," he said. "If I have to tear it from the last dying cell of your dissected brain." 

-S- 

Chicago, without a Supergirl, made do with what super-villains were native to the area, plus some who'd come in from out-of-state. The Gang, that four-person excuse for a super-villain group in similar uniforms, had first dibs on raising hell. They smashed up the plaza that the First National Bank of Tokyo was in, but stopped short, patriotically, of demolishing the big iron Picasso statue. Bulldozer felt some need to stay true to form, and just uprooted it and tipped it on its side. 

Psi, a half-dressed villainess with mind-over-matter powers, strafed the University of Chicago just to keep her hand in and split the roofs of nine of its buildings as straightly as if the knife she were using was of metal, not psychic force. Cops shot at her but she deflected the bullets with her mind. 

Their ranks were increased by a new bunch of arrivals. One of them was a robotic human-appearing woman who stood fifteen feet in height. Her master, a bald man in blue and red like herself, perched on her shoulder and gave orders. Another robot, less humanoid and smaller but more fearsome, rampaged through the street, crushing automobiles and storefronts. A fourth appeared to be a red-hot, molten mass of lava, humanoid and held together by some unfathomable force, melting asphalt and stone where he tread. Respectively, they were Multi-Woman, Multi-Man, Kra, and Volcano Man, and were known as the League of Challenger-Haters. 

Before them, the cops drew back, and civilians fled. Multi-Man was disappointed. "We've come all this way," he complained from his shoulder perch, "and not a single foe worth our fighting. You'd expect more courtesy than that." 

A familiar voice, amplified mechanically, answered him, "And you'll get it, Dome-Head! We just had to figure out where you were." 

The voice had come from Robotman, Cliff Steele, sliding down a metal cable whose grappling hook was perched on the cornice of a small building. Above and behind him, other figures were issuing from a strange bird-shaped black warp. A glowing silhouette, bearing a bandaged woman and another woman, who appeared to be a native of India, plus a flying, energy-pulsing black man. The New Doom Patrol was only the beginning. The Challenger-Haters next glimpsed, with satisfaction, the forms of seven Challengers in uniform: the original four, Rocky, Ace, Prof, and Red, together with June Robbins, Corinna Stark, and Gaylord Clayburn. 

"Well, well, well," commented Kra the robot, cracking his metallic knuckles. "It's been too long, chumps. Even if I do see a few new faces." 

Volcano Man hissed, and prepared to throw lava. 

But the parade of heroes was hardly done. Another squad of newcomers bounced out of the Raven-warp onto the building roof. Animal-Man gave himself the power of a bird, soared towards the Chall-Haters, and snatched Multi-Man off Multi-Woman's shoulder before the female robot could react. In response, Multi-Man utilized his morphing powers, changing into a spiked and tentacled monstrosity, and started dragging Animal-Man face-first towards a number of points as hard as rhinoceros horn. 

"Guys," said A-Man, "a little help would be appreciated...oh, boy." 

The Atomic Knight, thrust forward by a jet-pack, took aim with his gun and blasted Multi-Man with powerful rays. The villain released Animal-Man and changed back towards a more recognizable form, and was caught by Multi-Woman in her left hand. With her right, she smashed at the Knight and almost knocked him out of the sky. 

The other Forgotten Heroes sized up the situation. "Pretty tough opposition," said Congo Bill. "And me without even a golden gorilla. Or powers." 

"The rest of us have gotten along fine without them, Bill," stated Dane Dorrance of the Sea Devils. "And we've all taken out bad guys with super-powers before." 

Rocky Davis was already on a run. "You guys can have sloppy seconds if ya want," he said, "but these guys are strictly Challenger meat!" 

"Uh...maybe not, Rock," said Ace, pointing upward. 

Above them, another warp had formed. Another small band of villains, including a huge robot and a beautiful but cruel-appearing woman, was visible in its maw. Corinna Stark sensed she was a sister of the Craft, but also knew that the woman was many times more powerful than herself. 

"So this is where you ended up," remarked the Enchantress. "Forgotten Villains, attack!" 

By the time Ultivac had stepped through the warp, the battle was in full tilt. 

-S- 

The Forever People weren't that hard to find, thankfully. The people of Five Bridges looked up, gasped, and pointed at the three flying figures of Superman, Supergirl, and Dev-Em. Kara was sure she picked up one saying, "Look, up in the sky!" Yep...it's the same everywhere, she thought. 

The houses of Mark Moonrider and his crew were fairly close together and, though hardly super-tech in nature, owed a lot to the sweeping design of New Genesis architecture. The threesome landed near the walk of Moonrider's house, upsetting a delivery man. Kara helped him to his feet as Dev picked up his groceries and set them back in the sack for him. 

"By the Seven Spirits," said the man, when he got his voice back. "Are you...more of them?" 

"Not quite," said Supergirl, smiling. "But we're friends. Have a good day." 

"I...I still have to collect payment." 

Superman said, "In that case, we'll go along with you to make sure of it." He rapped on the front door. Within a few seconds, a very large and hairy man was standing in the open doorframe. The blue eyes under his great red mane opened wider when he looked out at the visitors, and his mouth split in a large grin. Big Bear's massive arms opened and crushed Superman to him in a hug. "Brother Superman!", he exclaimed. "It's been too long! How have you been, blue brother? Where have you been, for that matter?" 

"Umph," said the delivery man, who was being squashed between the two giants. 

"Oh. Sorry," said Big Bear, who stepped back and took the man's sack in one arm. 

Superman smiled back at him. "I was always hoping I'd meet you and the rest of the clan again someday, Big Bear. This is my cousin Kara, whom we call Supergirl, and her man Dev-Em. We're all of the same world." 

"How do you do, Big Bear?" said Kara, stepping gingerly onto the front porch. 

"Hey, nice," said Big Bear, losing her hand in his large paw in a handshake. "Pleased to meet you, Sister Supergirl. And if you have any other sisters..." 

Dev said, laconically, "While we're brothering and sistering around here, Brother Bear, we're in a pack of trouble back where we came from. Highfather sent us here. Think you can help?" 

"Highfather?" Big Bear started. "Then the war...it's started again?" 

"Did it ever really end, Big Bear?" said Superman, grimly. 

The New Genesite sighed. "Probably not. But I'd hoped it wouldn't reach us here again. Ever. Come on inside, no need to stir the locals up." 

"I'll only stay long enough to get my fee," said the delivery man. 

"Sure, you come, too," said Big Bear, and turned, leading them into the house. 

Kara checked the interior of the house with her X-ray vision as she and Dev stepped inside. The only ones there were Mark Moonrider and Big Bear. "Dreamer isn't here," she said. 

"You want to go find her?" said Dev. "I'll make an excuse for you." 

She turned her head in both directions, scanning. "She's over in another house. I guess it's hers. Let Kal and Bear know where I've gone, okay?" 

Dev hesitated. "You're sure you want to go alone? I haven't seen anything here that looks like it could threaten a fieldmouse, but if you-know-who's managed to track us somehow..." 

"A better reason for me keeping her safe," said Supergirl, and trotted back out the door. With a push-off from the front steps, she gained the air again, making a short hop to Beautiful Dreamer's place and giving the Adonians another thrill. 

Dreamer's home was as large as any of the others, but a bit more sylvan. A rock wall about three feet high surrounded her property and the house was set well back from the front of it, with a large lawn, trees, and a few specimens of local fauna romping in the yard. The back yard was fenced off by wooden planks. Supergirl had scanned beforehand and seen her back there, tending to purple and red flowers on a sort of trellis. 

The female Forever Person was beautiful--that was a given, since she'd done some modelling on their short stay on Earth--and brunette, wearing an extremely short orange garment that left her legs and arms bare. She was wearing gloves and kneepads for the gardening, though, and kept her hair tied back. Supergirl alit beside her. "Hello, Dreema," she said, in a friendly tone. 

Dreamer whirled with a start. Before she could make a sound, the flowered vines reached out from the trellis and wound themselves around Supergirl like boa constrictors. "Ferna! NO!" 

Kara grabbed two of the vines in her hands and pulled them away from her, firmly but gently. "Can you call this thing off, or do I have to burn it?" 

"Ferna, release her," said Dreamer. "I've seen that costume before, on a man who was my friend. Who are you?" 

The vine-thing unwound itself from Kara's body. She brushed a bit of lint from her person. "My name is Kara Zor-El, or Supergirl. I'm Superman's...uh, Brother Superman's cousin. We've been sent here as guardians. Of you, that is." 

"Of me?" Dreamer looked concerned. "What do I need to be guarded from?" She paused. "You don't mean that...that we've been found by..." 

"Not yet," said Supergirl. "But that's what we're trying to avoid. Let me take you back to the boys and we'll tell you all about it." She held out her hand. Tentatively, Dreamer took it. Then, over Kara's shoulder, she saw something that gave her a start again. 

Supergirl quickly turned her head and saw a sphere of purplish color forming on the lawn, which firmed up and then faded away within seconds. Human forms were in its place. Two men, one carrying a sword, and four women. Kara stepped between them and Dreamer before she saw that one of them was Harbinger. Another of the women had lifted a hand, and a greenish light formed in her palm. 

"Don't even think about it," warned Supergirl. "Harbinger?" 

The Monitor's ward grasped Jennifer Morgan's. "Hold. She is an ally and friend." 

The red-haired man in the red-and-yellow vest was starting to morph into some monstrous form. Kara tensed. "Harby, if somebody's turned you..." 

The sword-wielding man put his blade in front of the morpher. "Stop it, Shade. I've seen pics of this one before. She's Supergirl." 

"So?" asked Rac Shade, his illusion-self beginning to retract. 

"Shade, you are too quick to offense," said Mellu. "If Harbinger testifies for her, then I believe she is a friend." 

The young girl in the purple dress said, "I've met her cousin before. And are you Beautiful Dreamer, ma'am?" 

"I am called that," said Dreamer. "But who are you?" 

"My name is Amethyst. But you can call me Amy." 

"Time for introductions later," said Harbinger. "For now, Supergirl, Beautiful Dreamer must come with us. You may accompany us, if you wish." 

"We've gotten instructions from Highfather himself to bring her back to New Genesis," said Kara. "And until I hear different, Harbinger, that's what I'm going to do." 

"Supergirl, please," said Dreamer. "Right now, I'm not certain that I should go with either of you." 

Supergirl prepared herself. If Harbinger couldn't hold these fools back, it'd probably come down to a brawl. From the twinge she'd gotten when the tall broad had made her hand glow, it looked like she was packing magic. She might not be the only one, either. 

Then six other figures alit to the side of them, and both women looked relieved. Superman and Dev were there, carrying Mark Moonrider, Vykin, Big Bear, and the cowboy-hatted Serifan with them. Big Bear was riding on Superman's shoulders and seeming to enjoy it immensely. Superman crouched and let him down. 

"Everyone, halt," said Moonrider, in the tone he used when he really wanted to dress down his group about something. "For once, let's get things straightened out with words, instead of fists." 

Harbinger said to her unit, "At ease. These are the other Forever People, and that is Superman and his friend Dev-Em." 

Nightmaster looked agog. "Superman? I mean, for cryin' out loud...I'm standing not twenty feet away from Superman? The real Superman?" 

Shade looked at him. "Is he important?" 

Superman smiled. "Glad to know some of you know me, at least. Let's go inside and compare notes. Then we can get matters straightened out." 

"We don't have that sort of time," protested Harbinger. 

Dev looked at her, evenly. "We're gonna make time, darling." 

-S- 

Darkseid sat on an iron chair near his son, Orion. Kalibak was there, with Mister Miracle in hand, the latter imprisoned by bonds even Darkseid himself could not break. The New Genesis hero had been stripped of all his escape gear by Desaad's own hand. Whether he was unconscious or not was unknown, but he was gagged with a metal band, so it made no difference. Tigra was also there, not daring to approach her son too closely. 

"The family is gathered," said Darkseid. "Good." 

"Father," rumbled Kalibak. "If you will not let me kill Orion before he gives up the Equation, will you let me kill this one now? I need to kill someone, father, I really do." He looked pitiful. 

"Silence." 

Kalibak subsided. 

Darkseid rested his elbows on his knees and kept staring at Orion. "I wonder how well you know me, boy," he said. "I wonder if you know me at all." 

"Do not torment him, Darkseid," begged Tigra. "Anything you wish to do to him, do it to me instead." 

"I said SILENCE!" The lord of Apokolips whipped his head around like a striking snake. Tigra, who had once been wife to him, who had delivered Orion from her very loins, recoiled and abutted Mr. Miracle's body. Darkseid held her gaze for a long moment. Then he turned back to Orion. 

"Marriage and birth are such bleak affairs on our world," said Darkseid, softly. "Yet, what on our world is not bleak? It is fitting. Efficient. Affection serves no purpose and stands as a bar against true loyalty. Fear, now that's the key. Not much of an original observation, I'm sure, son, but with such things I tend to favor the tried and true. 

"You never knew my mother. Her name was Heggra and she was queen of Apokolips. She birthed me with the help of a sorceror. I don't even know his name. She had him executed later, to ensure that I would only have one parent, her, to be loyal to. Efficient thinking. But...I wish I knew who my father was. 

"I remember being a boy, as much of a boy as I ever was, being sent to Granny Goodness's academy. I was the one they couldn't break, but Heggra planned it that way. I ended up taking charge there. I broke Granny to my will. That was exquisite. She assumed her old ways afterwards, with the other students, but never bothered me again. 

"My mother taught me about power. She taught me about sorcery, such of it that I use, and saw to it that others taught me science. She made sure I knew about the primal purpose of Apokolips: that all effort on this world is devoted to industry, and that all industry is devoted to war, and that all war is devoted to the destruction of New Genesis. I cannot say that her tutelage was wrong. In my case, it gave me a purpose, taught me what to do with my life, but...really...she should have known better. I saw what power could do, and I wanted to amass it for myself, not for my mother, not for the world. For me. 

"Because I could wield it best." 

Darkseid sat silently for awhile. Tigra's breathing was heavy. Kalibak fidgeted, but he knew better than to disturb his father. After awhile, the lord of Apokolips began again. 

"The problem has always been that life is too random. If you give a man free will, what does he do with it? If you believe the Earth legends, he goes and bites a fruit he was told not to eat on pain of death. You can kill him, and you probably do. But does that stop other men from biting the fruit? No. So...the choices are...you can take away the fruit. You can kill him. Or you can do the intelligent thing, which is: take away his free will. 

"Now, you must understand this: I have come to understand that it is the only way in which Life can continue, without destroying itself. The war was going on, hot and cold, when I was a child. I saw that. I don't fear it. I could not make it, if I feared it. But...it is tremendously inefficient. It wastes the lives of people you could control. It expends your resources. Leaves less for yourself. I saw all of this, my son. I saw, and knew, that Free Will...was a terrible, horrible, wretched mistake. 

"That is, for everyone save me. 

"This was...this was some time before I learned of the Equation. The Equation of Anti-Life. Even before I learned of such a thing, I knew that such a thing must be. And that is how I know I am destined to possess it. Do you see, my son? It is because I am strong enough to be the only one to direct the Multiverse, that I am fated to direct it. Free Will is nothing. Controlled Will is everything...if the hand at the controller is strong enough. And mine is. 

"Some call me vicious, and I am, in their sight. Some call me tyrannic, and from their point of view, perhaps I am. I see myself as efficient. A master of efficiency. And since terror is a part of efficiency...ask any man of business on any world, or any official...I became a master of that, as well. No...that is not totally correct. I was always a master of that. It was inherent. 

"The war had gone cold, in my and Izaya's early manhood. I fixed that, by having Uncle Steppenwolf make a strike on New Genesis. Just a big enough one for him to kill Izaya's wife, and for me to render him senseless. That started things up again, to be sure. And in the battle, both Uncle Steppenwolf and my mother Heggra were killed. As I had planned. 

"Upon Heggra's death, I ascended to the throne. They told me about Anti-Life, then. But I already knew of it. I'd wrested the truth from one of them, and wiped his mind clean afterward. I knew it had to be, and it was. And I knew that I would have to get it. 

"But...Izaya was a warrior of some worth, in his own right. At least, he used to be. The war threatened to destroy both our worlds. Perhaps even both of us. So he went and found the Source, had a life-change, became a weakling, and sued for peace. I saw how that could be directed towards my ends, so I accepted. That was when you, my son, were traded for Izaya's son, who became my other son...the one Granny Goodness called Scott Free. More than twenty years passed. It took that long to rebuild our worlds, to heal our wounds. To consolidate our powers. 

"By that time I had mated with another, a sorceress who bore me Kalibak. As for Izaya, if he mated again, he kept it to himself. Then Scott broke free, free as his name, scrambling through a Boom Tube to another world. I kept searching for my Answer, my final Equation. World after world, but none of them gave me what I wanted. Finally, it was detected. On the Earth within our plane. The Earth to which Scott had escaped. 

"Many of the Earthers had part of the Equation, none of them had it all. I got to all of them that my instruments could detect. The first batch of them I brought over here as a test, though it violated the terms of our treaty with Izaya. That was intentional. I needed to keep Izaya busy if I was to search for the Equation. Still, still..." 

Darkseid sighed. 

"...it eluded me. You opposed me. You, with the Astro-Force that could have killed me. But you never used it. Do you know why, my son? Because you are my son. And, though you have been taught to despise everything I am...you can never fulfill the prophecy. You can never kill your father. 

"Instead, you almost killed Kalibak, after he almost killed you. I snatched him from the very hand of the Black Racer by a Boom Tube, took what remained of his mind and fit it into a cloned body. Earth, and that great mass of heroes there, was aware of me now. The efficient thing was to suspend operations. So, after that sortie which almost claimed the life of Izaya's son on the day of his wedding to Barda, I did. But only on the surface, below Izaya's perception. 

"I had learned of the existence of powerful evil men on Earth, as powerful as the forces which opposed me. If they could be organized into a group of efficiency, my Secret Society of Super-Villains, they might have proven the hammer by which I could have beaten down my foes, without risk to my Apokolips forces. But, I confess, I did not handle it well. It was a first attempt, and they broke away from me. Not, however, before I killed that one called Manhunter, as if that made any difference. 

"At that point, I reopened conflict with New Genesis, while searching for the Equation in the person of the Infinity Man. That almost worked, as you well know. Well, in fact, it did work. I was able to reach the Source, to fathom its secrets...but you prevented me from shielding myself from its curse, and I became a Promethean Giant, whom Desaad, in his great 'wisdom', destroyed with one of our cannon. 

"But my spirit was a bit too strong to be lost. I had the cloning technology that had built a new body for Kalibak, and for Desaad, when I had earlier destroyed him--all but his mind, which I retained, to teach him a lesson--and I forced three Earthers, one from my lost Society, to utilize it to build a new body for me. Which, of course, I inhabited. At that point, you recall, I implemented a plan to destroy two Earths and use their power in my behalf. But you and your allies, together with some 'heroes' from those Earths, thwarted me again...and again, you thought me destroyed. 

"You should have known better. I had another clone waiting, and another after that. I merely put myself back in a waiting body. Still, there is a limit to how many I can make, and how efficient they will be. My powers are strong in this form. They may not be in another. Or I may find...an end...to my ability to switch bodies. 

"Which means that, this time, I had best be right. For I have detected in you, the gift I always desired...the Equation, buried so low, so utterly, that even I never found it in your mind until recently. As I have learned of its light counterpart, which the woman, Dreema, possesses. Soon, she, too, will be in my hands, that I may destroy her. But not before I take Izaya, that I may destroy her before his eyes. 

"And of course, there are those...Kryptonians, as they call themselves. Superman, and this Supergirl, and, I now know, one beside them. But I have prepared for them, as I have prepared for all. Once this is done, the chaos can cease. Once the Equation is given up, and wielded, we can get back to the business of Life...through Anti-Life. 

"So you must understand, my son. I do this, not for evil, but for the greater good. A greater good than any of these fools can understand. And it is for this reason that I must do...what I must do. I think this may be love. And if so, Orion...you must understand that I love you." 

After another long moment, Darkseid got up. He pushed past Kalibak, and opened the door. A shrouded figure came in, tentatively, yet with eagerness on his face. 

Tigra cried out in fear. 

"I want the Equation," said Darkseid to Desaad. "Do with him what you will." 

To be continued... 


	15. Part 15:  War Beneath the Waves

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 15: War Below the Waves 

by DarkMark 

The outlook wasn't very sunny for the Forgotten Heroes, the Challengers of the Unknown, the Doom Patrol, and any of the civilians within eyeshot. The Forgotten Villains, the Gang, and the Challenger-Haters had them backed into the town square of Chicago, clustered around the great steel Picasso sculpture. Multi-Man decided that, whenever they got finished murdering the heroes, he'd have Volcano Man melt the blasted thing down for scrap. 

"We ain't dead yet, Prof," said Rocky, not taking his eyes off the horde circling them. "I'm ready to take at least two of these punks out with me when I go." 

"Sounds like a great idea to me, Rocky," said Prof Haley. "If our borrowed time runs out today...well, I couldn't think of a finer crew to die with." 

"Not quite like the last time we teamed up, is it, Prof?" said Robotman in his metallic tones. "Well, I guess Larry, Rita, and the Chief 've been waitin' too long. I'll bust a few of these guys up before I join 'em." 

"Wish I could think of a few good lines from a corny war movie for ya," stated Animal-Man, facing the foe. "How's about, 'Come on, you guys! You wanna live forever?'" 

"If that's an option, I'll take it," said the Atomic Knight, his blaster at the ready. "If not, let's hit 'em. We knew the odds coming in...and going out." 

"So say we all, Grayle," said Dane Dorrance. "So say we all." 

Multi-Man looked at his troops, both the ones he directly commanded in the Challenger-Haters, and the ones who had allied themselves with him, from the Enchantress's mighty troop to the four similarly-costumed Gang members. "We've wasted enough time enjoying the moment, my friends," he said, in a voice that carried to them all. "Now, if you will, it's time to--" 

That was as far as Multi-Man ever got. He paused a moment, as he saw the Enchantress's eyes looking startledly at something over his shoulder. 

He paused forever when the point of a sword, and the steel blade behind it, emerged from his throat. He tried to send a message to his body to convert it to a monstrous form that could crush his attacker in his death throes. But despite what one sees in the movies or reads in a comic book, death comes much too quickly for something like that. 

The blade was withdrawn from the villain's throat and he tumbled from Multi-Woman's shoulder seconds before she turned her head. The giant robot woman beheld a white-bearded man, half-naked but silver-helmeted, standing upon her shoulder. He leaped at her, and before she could turn away, rammed his great incarnadined sword into her eye. It caused sparks to fly, and the camera vision went out on that side of her head. She swung her face, and her attacker and his sword went flying. The crackling, black, yellow-haloed form of Negative Woman caught him. 

Kra, the alien robot, opened his metallic jaws wide. "Who in seven successive hells is that?" 

Negative Woman deposited her charge on the pavement near the other heroes. He wasn't looking at them. His gaze of hatred was directed at the enemy. His sword, still dripping blood, was held high. 

"Who in hell are you?" said Celsius, beside him. 

"I'm Travis Morgan," said the man. "They also call me Warlord. I didn't want to be here, but here I am. If you're ready to die, tough luck. But if you're ready to fight, I'm here for you." 

Prof Haley, Cliff Steele, and Congo Bill exchanged glances. The remainder of the enemy was powerful indeed. The magically-powered Enchantress and Krakow, the robotic Ultivac, Kra, and Multi-Woman, the mighty Bulldozer, Volcano Man, Faceless Creature, and the rest. The odds were still against them, but they were ready to fight. True, some of them were off-put by Morgan's willingness to kill. But the enemy was shaken by the death of one of their leaders, and that counted. 

"We're ready to fight," said Prof. "Let's take 'em, heroes!" 

-S- 

Below the waves, on Earth-One, a city-state was besieged. Great were its attackers, but just as great were the fighting forces arrayed against it, and the battle dragged on. 

For the first time, the Aquaman native to this Earth had met his Earth-Two counterpart. The older Aquaman was not a king of Atlantis, which was either a deserted city on his world or the domed kingdom of Queen Clea, Wonder Woman's foe. He brought with him a grandson, Aquaman III, who looked and dressed like an older Aqualad, a woman named Natalia Perkins, who looked part-Asian, and Neptune Perkins, almost as old as the older Aquaman, a younger version of whom Arthur Curry had met in the Monitor's satellite. 

Upon meeting each other, both Aquamen had looked upon each other with wonder and curiosity. Outside of his age, the Earth-Two Aquaman could be distinguished by his gloves, which were yellow; Earth-One's Sea King wore green gloves. After a moment, Old Aquaman had said, "Sonny, if there's any way I can look like you again, I certainly want to." 

Aqualad and Tula, floating nearby with Mera and Lori Lemaris, were awed. "Arthur, if this is what you're gonna look like--" 

"Be polite, minnow," said Aquaman, irritatingly enough. "Well, um. I'm Arthur Curry. I'm king of this realm. Pleased to meet you." He stuck out a green gloved hand. The yellow gloved hand of Old Aquaman clasped it. 

"Likewise, I'm sure," said the old man. "These 'uns behind me are my grandson, Aquaman III, Natalia Perkins, and her granddad Neptune. Say hi to 'em, young 'uns." 

"Hi," said Nat, a tad shyly. 

"Hello," offered Neptune, still powerful-looking but white-haired and old-faced. 

Mera put on her charmer's smile. "We're happy to meet you after all these years. I am Mera, wife of Aquaman. This is his partner Garth, or Aqualad, as he's better known, and Aqua-Girl, also called Tula. And this is Lori Lemaris of Poseidonis. We handle things around our Atlantis." 

"This is marvelous, grandpa," offered Aquaman III, gazing at the domed city. "People with fishtails, regular mer-people, all in a living Atlantis. Once this is over, I'd like to spend some more time here. If it's all right, of course." 

"We'll deal with that later," said young Aquaman. "Right now, we have a bit of a problem." He gestured towards the submarine ships that were trading shots with Atlantean forces not far from them. Some of them bore the mark of Black Manta, others of the Ocean Master. Still others were unidentified. But all of them were united in a deadly front, and Aquaman's forces were barely keeping them back. 

There was combat between Atlantean soldiers and scuba-suited hirelings, as well, and Arthur Curry well knew that too many lives had been lost already. It was time to act. 

He was about to order his crew into action when he caught sight of three newcomers circling past a nearby tower and coming towards them. Aquaman III saw them too, and was about to leap into action. Aquaman of Earth-One grabbed his arm. "Hold on," he said. "I recognize two of them." 

One of them sent a telepathic message: Aquaman, it's me. The two with me are friendlies.> 

I could guess, Jerro,> replied Aquaman. Hurry up, we're about to leave.> 

Within seconds, the threesome halted before them. Two were Tritonians, with the fishtailed lower bodies common to their race. The other was human in appearance, but had pale green skin, dark hair, and pointed ears. He was the one new to Aquaman. 

"Friends, allow me to introduce Jerro," said Aquaman. "He's a Tritonian, like Lori here, and one of our intelligence agents. This bare-chested one beside him is Merro, who likes to call himself the Merman, also Tritonian. They used to be associates of our Earth's Supergirl and Wonder Woman, respectively. As for the other one, well, you've got me at a loss. Your name, sir?" 

The green man offered a tight smile. "I am Man-Fish, formerly the Marquis Juan Villambrosa. I count the Sea Devils among my friends, and Dane Dorrance asked me to join you today. I offer my services as well." 

Manno broke in. "We've seen some sharkers that we can identify. Ocean Master, Fisherman, Black Manta, Scavenger, Marine Marauder. Plus some others I've never seen in our files." 

Jerro telepathed some images to Aquaman, who identified them. "The fire-haired woman is Karla. Haven't heard from her in years. I can identify most of the others...Typhoon, Magneto, Claw, Torpedo-Man, Captain Demo, the Human Flying Fish, and the Huntress...not the one from your world, sir. Looks like they've gathered anyone who could breathe down here or use an air tank. Plus one more. Oceanus. Remember him, Mera?" 

"Oceanus," Mera breathed. She remembered him well. He was a renegade from her dimensional world who had once set her against Aquaman, when she believed he had betrayed her, and briefly aquired the throne of Atlantis, before things were set to rights. At the end of that adventure, she and Arthur had become man and wife. She had not seen Oceanus since then, but he had the water-hardening-and-shaping powers common to her race. 

"Let's get started," said Aquaman. "And if you happen to get punched by somebody you can't see...that's the Un-Thing. With Karla around, I think he'll be here, too. Follow me." 

The merman warriors let the orange-and-green clad hero and his Earth-Two self take the point, the rest of them fanning out behind them like the wings of a manta ray. All of them left the streets of Atlantis and swam into the outskirts of battle, where ray-blasts and depth-charges sent off impacts that rocked them in their paths. 

Then Arthur Curry saw them. 

An opposing force of costumed figures, most of whom were his old enemies. And the one taking point for them was clad in a familiar purple outfit and helmet, and riding a large sled-craft that could easily have seated ten men. His own brother, Orm. The Ocean Master. 

Neither of them had wanted to kill each other before, but Orm never gave up his quest to rule the seas. This time, there might be no way to avoid what they had skirted around beforehand. 

Behind the foe was a towering, undefined figure much too large to be human, vaguely greenish, seeming to gurgle, walking as if every step cost it a great effort, and looking very, very threatening. Aquaman had no idea who that foe was, but it, too, would have to be dealt with. 

A special speaker in Ocean Master's helmet sent his voice across the gulf between us. "Greetings, brother. I hope you don't think that 'what you see is what you get'...we've brought in some new friends." 

A hatch opened below the prow of Orm's sled, and six hulking, horrible, green figures emerged, armed with weaponry the likes of which Aquaman had never seen before. 

"I'd like to present some friends from Apokolips," smirked Ocean Master. "Let's hear a big, warm Atlantean welcome for...the Deep Six." 

-S- 

The young boy known as Tim Hunter had met most of the people in the hospital room with him during an adventure in which he had been shown the origin of the universe, the existence of magicians on several Earths, another world populated by the denizens of fairy-stories, and an unending series of futures which ended finally with a blind man trying to kill him. It was quite an accellerated education. At the end, he thought for a time he didn't want to be a magician, and thought that he had refused them. But, shortly after that, he figured that he might try on the top-hat stuff for size, and learned that he still had the option. The four main guys, he figured, were about as slick as Marine Corps recruiters. 

Now, if he became a good magician, Earth might have a great future ahead of it. If he became corrupted, it might suffer a catastrophic Magic War in ten to twenty years. Or it might get the war anyway, but he'd be on the right side. Just another one of those Possible Futures the Four Guys liked to talk about sometimes. Except now there were Three. The fourth was the one who had tried to strangle him. 

So they'd pulled him away from a Stallone movie and taken him through the Relativity Highway to this hospital bed in which Jim Corrigan was sucking air through a chest wound, and Madame Xanadu, that beautiful but spooky Tarot-card lady, had sat him down cross-legged on the floor. "We want you to contact Corrigan's inner consciousness, Tim, and see if we can help him survive. The Spectre is needed in this great conflict." 

"Conflict?" There had been CNN reports about the great battles between heroes and villains around the world, but none of it had impinged his neighborhood. "I don't know, Miss Xanadu. I mean, I don't know much about this stuff, I'm just a kind of a kid. Why couldn't you do it yourselves?" 

"You're smaller," snapped Constantine. "You'll fit better. Now shurrup and do as you're told." 

Dr. Occult said, "Jim's mind has raised defenses even against us, Tim. But your aura has a specific quality--one, I might describe, of innocence--that may allow you to pass through unharmed." 

Tim swallowed. "And if it doesn't?" 

"We'll be there for you, boy," said the Stranger. 

From the Stranger, that seemed reassuring. Tim held up his hands, palms first, to Madame Xanadu. "Like this?" he said. 

"Yes," she said. She placed her palms against his, interlinking their fingers. "Now. Trance state, Tim. Come on the Amazing Journey. Let's talk to Jim Corrigan." 

He closed his eyes. As he did so, he heard Occult say, "Handle this better than you did with Mento." 

"Think happy thoughts, mate," replied Constantine. 

He also seemed to hear the Stranger say, "I shall return." 

That was when Tim realized he was seeing something more than the inside of his eyelids.   
  
-S- 

Most of the lights were off in Mrs. Berkowitz's apartment building, or seemed to be. It didn't seem a good idea to leave on a light that might attract the attention of warring idiots in the skies or on the ground. 

As they sat in the semidarkness of Ida Berkowitz's front room to watch CNN, John Ostrander wondered if the latest havoc reminded his landlady of the terror days of World War II. But he decided not to ask her. Beforehand, the escapades of Supergirl against various villains in Chicago had seemed almost an entertainment. Against the power of the Girl of Steel, how could any regular super-baddie prevail? 

Now it was a war, and both sides seemed equal. And Supergirl was apparently out of town. 

Joan Raymond and Cheryl Delarye sat on the sofa flanking Mrs. Berkowitz, all of them staring at Bernard Shaw on the box. He was giving the latest details of the metahuman war, then cutting to the female correspondent who did a voice-over. The cameraman was at ground level, trying to catch a sight of the conflict high overhead, and mostly failing. 

"Thank you, Bernard. Luckily, the conflict here in Tokyo hasn't cost too many lives by official count. But property damage has been considerable. Japan hasn't seen the sort of super-conflict that the United States has been privy to in the last thirty years. Now they, like many other nations in the world, have been dragged into it against their will. We can't see it from our viewpoint, but at present the international heroes known as the Global Guardians are fighting a motley band of super-villains, mainly in the skies, though some ground conflict has also resulted. I--wait, hold on. Jim, can you--Bernard, something's breaking out down the street. We're trying--hold on, we're trying to get coverage..." 

The camera's focus shifted from the Tokyo skies to the narrow streets, which were mostly bare of people. Tokyo was almost under martial law for the duration of the battle. Several indistinct figures were glimpsed on the street, a couple of blocks down, fighting. Shaw's voice came back on, saying, "Catherine, can you give us any details of what you're seeing? Catherine, are you there?" 

"Yes, I'm here, Bernard," she said. "It's hard for me to identify the superhumans we're seeing now, and we don't want to get too close. But I believe one of them, the one in the dark outfit, is the hero known as Tasmanian Devil. He comes from Australia. And...do you see that? The one lifting an opponent overhead, the bare-chested one--good grief! He slammed his opponent to the pavement, and his opponent is not moving. I hope the villain's unconscious, these heroes are usually pretty conscientious about not taking life. But the big one in the bare chest, I believe, is the Seraph, the hero of Israel." 

"Gottenu," muttered Mrs. Berkowitz. "Now they're making Jewish super-heroes already? I thought it was strictly a goy thing." 

"Nothing's strictly an anyone thing anymore, I think," said Cheryl. "When are they gonna get back to Chicago?" 

The camera had moved in enough to show the Tasmanian Devil throwing a roundhouse right that sent another oddly-garbed foe to dreamland. The correspondent judged things safe enough to move in for an interview. "Could you tell us, please, who you are, and what has just happened here?" 

The Australian looked at her in a mixture of disbelief, contempt, and amusement. "Well, for the record, ma'am, I'm the Tasmanian Devil, this big drongo here's the Seraph, and we're still on the job. Now, if ye'd be so kind, couldya call up the local paddy wagon 'n' have 'em take these drongos away? Gotta lot of work to do yet. Thanks." 

The Seraph, a muscular man in a kilt, sandals, and cape who wore long hair and a beard, looked as serious as a judge, especially if the judge had been Samson. He reached out, took the microphone from the correspondent, and spoke into it. "I wish to reassure my countrymen that we have not forgotten them. As soon as possible, the Global Guardians will appear in Israel. This is the word of the Seraph. Shalom." He handed the mike back to her. 

"Uh, thank you," she said. The two heroes turned and sprinted around the corner. Whether or not it was to join their teammates or to avoid further interviewing was not clear. Christine did some more summarizing before handing the potato back to Bernard. 

"In Chicago, the tide of battle seems to have turned," said Shaw. "Here with the latest is Wolf Blitzer. Wolf?" 

Cheryl sighed and crossed herself. "Thank God. Maybe we won't have to keep our heads down much longer." 

"Don't count on it, Cheryl," warned Joan. "This thing is looking bigger than the mess with the Democrats back in '68. Until we get word from the mayor, I'm not even going back to work." 

Mrs. Berkowitz spoke. "All my life," she said. "I said to myself, 'If I ever get out of here, I'm going to America. No pogroms there, no storm troopers, no death camps, no yellow stars on your shirt. Nobody makes war on America.' Now, I come here, and in my waning years...it's just the same. Or, God help us, too much of the same." 

"We've got super-heroes, Mrs. B," said John. "So far, they're holding their own." 

"Yes, but for how long, John?" she asked. "And, worse, what's happened to Linda? Where is she, and her Dev person?" 

John Ostrander had no answer for either question. 

They watched the TV in silence. 

-B- 

Supergirl, Dev, and Superman had broken bread with the Forever People and the ones who Nightmaster told her he called the "Magic Squad". But Kara was getting impatient. Five Earths were being threatened, Darkseid held Orion prisoner, and three of the biggest guns in the campaign--herself, Kal, and Dev--were being held up on this mission. In her opinion, they had to finish things up and get back. 

Yet here they sat, around a dinner table in Adon, trying to convince five old hippies to come with them and save the Multiverse. 

"Personally, I want no more contact with Darkseid," Beautiful Dreamer said, between bites. "And if the cost of that is no more contact with Highfather as well, I'm prepared to pay it." 

"Pardon me, D'reema," Superman pointed out, "but there's no staying out of the conflict. Izaya was quite clear on that point: if we want you, you can be sure Darkseid wants you as well. And if we can find you, he can find you as well." 

"Point taken, Brother Superman," said Big Bear, wolfing down a joint of roast. "But we've gotten used to peaceful ways on Adon. And he hasn't found us yet." 

Mark Moonrider toyed with a piece of bread. "If D'Reema is in danger from Darkseid, Superman, wouldn't it make more sense to keep her here, where we can guard her, and where it's been impossible for him to find us so far? As Big Bear says, we've gotten used to the ways of peace." 

It was Nightmaster who spoke next. "Hey, I know all about the ways of peace, as you put it. Back in my time I was a rock musician, antiwar, the whole nine yards. The bit is, I got thrown into a situation in which I had to fight...something right out of Tolkien or Robert E. Howard. That's where I first got this." He held up the humming sword. "Like it or not, I had to use it, to save my girl, a couple of friends I met along the way, and, not coincidentally, me. Pacifism's great, guys, as long as everybody around you's a pacifist, too. But that's not always the case." 

Vykin the Black said, "The one called Nightmaster speaks well, brothers. I fear we cannot evade the grasp of Darkseid, even here. If Adon is attacked, we must defend it...and we will find ourselves in this war, willingly or not." 

Serifan adjusted his cowboy hat. "But,Vyke, that's just what we've been talkin' about. Ain't none of those Para-Demons or Dog Cavalries or Justifiers been knockin' on our door so far. S'been a long time since we've set foot on Earth or Apokolips, and I votes we stay right here for the duration." 

Dev said, "Speaking for myself, I've been up against Darkseid, too. And here's something you've missed: if he wants little miss Dreamer here, he might devastate this whole planet if he finds her on it. Wouldn't be beyond him at all, would it?" 

Dreamer said, soberly, "As much as I hate to admit it--not at all." 

Dev-Em continued: "So, if she's off of this world, it might mean the Adonites get spared a visit by 'Seid's advance men. We'll also be better able to defend her, and she'll be better equipped to make a play with that Life Equation thing, if and when she has to. Put that equation in your data cache, and see what you come up with." 

Supergirl looked at the remainder of the group, Amethyst, Jennifer Morgan, Shade, and Mellu, and wondered again at the forces that had thrown such a disparate bunch of characters together. Then again, it wasn't any more remarkable than the events that had brought the heroes of the five Earths into concert. She set down her fork, noisily. "I can't see the purpose of any further debate. If Darkseid's only days away from getting the Anti-Life Equation, we need Dreamer. Despite your wanting to stay here, and Rao knows I can empathize, there's no way I can see you all just abandoning the five universes to Darkseid's control. If that happens, do you think Adon's going to be safe? Or, for that matter, anyplace else? She has to come with us. That's the only solution." 

There was a pause, and then the entire crew appeared to be all ready to speak at once. It was interrupted by Harbinger falling backward out of her chair. She almost hit the floor before Kal and Kara super-sped over to catch her, even before Shade and Nightmaster, on either side of her, could react. 

"Great Topaz," exclaimed Amethyst. "Talk about speed! But what's happened to Harbinger?" 

Kara, Dev already at her side, lay her ear against Harbinger's chest. "She's all right. Heartbeat and pulse returning to normal. I think she's still even conscious." 

Jennifer's right hand glowed. "I'll cast a spell to help her recover. Supergirl, please stand back." 

Harbinger's eyes refocused, and she blinked. "That--will not be necessary, Jennifer. But--we are in danger." 

Shade slid back his chair and jumped to his feet. The M-Vest was already creating a distorted picture of his body. "From what source? And how soon?" 

"Peace, Rac," said Mellu, putting a hand on his arm. "Let her speak." 

"My other-self has been stricken," said Harbinger. "The one on Apokolips. I can feel it." 

Supergirl held Harbinger's right hand. "How closely are you linked? Can you feel what she feels?" 

"To--some degree," said Harbinger. "But that is not important. Darkseid's minion has traced us through our self-link. He knows of my presence. My sister-self is blocked from recall. Now he can locate us..." 

"How soon?" rapped Superman, even as he cast his X-ray vision through the walls of the home. 

From without, a cry of horror was heard. It didn't take super-hearing to detect it. The heroes and heroines exploded towards the doorways. 

Outside, they beheld the terrified Adonite villagers looking up at the sky and pointing at a wave of blackness coming from the horizon. The wave was broken into hundreds of smaller, humanoid units. 

The Shadow-Demons. 

Dev-Em, launching himself into the air, said, "You've got a great way of answering your own questions, Supes." 

Supergirl was right behind him, and within a second, both were in the midst of the wave of shadows, as was Superman. 

Big Bear grabbed Moonrider by the shoulder. "Mark, I don't think even our powers are gonna work against that. And I don't know if our super-brothers are gonna be able to hold all of 'em off." 

"We've still got to try," said Mark Moonrider. "And we're going to." 

Harbinger, still recovering, said, "What of your union-self, the Infinity Man? Could his powers not be of use?" 

"You don't understand," exclaimed Vykin. "We haven't been able to contact him since the day we came to Adon. He may not even exist." 

Beautiful Dreamer ran into the house, and emerged quickly with a Mother Box. "He may not, Vykin," she said. "But by the Source, we're going to try again!" 

Harbinger directed her group to circle the Forever People, who themselves formed a circle around the Mother Box. The box itself levitated into the air, several feet above the outstretched hands of Moonrider's family unit. The quintet of New Genesites poured their wills into the organic circuitry of it, and waited. 

Nothing happened. 

Nothing, that is, until a Shadow-Demon touched Shade's M-Vest, producing a feedback shock that shattered the demon and knocked Shade five paces to the side. 

Nightmaster drew his sword, which hummed like a hive of angry bumblebees. "Let's rumble, guys," he said, grimly. 

And the horde of shadows came on. 

To be continued...   
  



	16. Part 16:  Against the Shadows

Supergirl: The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 16: Against the Shadows 

by DarkMark 

In space, somebody can hear you scream if you have a communications hookup. 

The Green Lanterns had such. They were linked to a telepathic communicator through their rings. That meant Hal Jordan, Arisia, Kilowog, Salaak, Ch'p, Stel, Medphyl, Charlie Vicker, and all the rest were able to know the plight of their various fellow Corpsmen on the battlefield of vacuum. Star Sapphire had no such ring, but she was able to link through a connection provided by her gem. 

Sinestro was leading the Black Lanterns of Qward in an all-out assault on Korugar. Alongside him were the Yellow Lanterns, a thin band of Korugan outlaws he had once (and currently) equipped with duplicates of his yellow power ring to fight Hal Jordan and Alan Scott; the Thunderers, who unleashed red bolts of destruction from their quivers; the Gordanians, who had long plagued the galaxy with their conquests, and a number of independent foes of the Green Lanterns. These last included the likes of Goldface, the Blue Light (an old enemy of Katma Tui's), the Overspider (a crime boss on Xax's world), the Master of Decay (who offered deadly rust to Stel and his world of robots), and many others. 

If it wasn't Armageddon, it was a dress rehearsal. 

So much lead had been unleashed in the direction of Sodar Jag, the Daxamite GL, that he'd had to be teleported to a parallel universe to avoid it. The Black Lanterns' rings were less efficient than those of the Korugan warriors, but they had managed the trick of coordinating their attacks and were offering deadly opposition to several of the Corpsmen. 

Sinestro was in the midst of battering down the defenses of Ch'p, the chipmunk Green Lantern (not much of a prize, but he'd have to do till Jordan got in range) when one of the Yellows flew up beside him. New forces,> sent the Korugan. Coming up fast.> 

Deal with them,> Sinestro sent. You've got rings, don't you?> 

Yes, Sinestro, but these ones aren't Lanterns!> 

The archduke of infamy felt like taking the subordinate's face off with his teeth. That much the easier, then! Do I have to do everything myself, blast it?> 

The other Korugan just pointed over Sinestro's shoulder. Snarling, he looked in that direction. He stopped in mid-snarl. 

He didn't know where the score of war-cruisers had gotten their cloaking devices, but since they were surrounding the battlefield in space without a one of them having been detected, he made a mental note to find out. 

Damn,> Sinestro swore, and turned away. Here, finish up this one for me.> He shot off, propelled by his yellow ring. The other Korugan reluctantly tried to take up where he'd left off, turning his ring towards pressuring the ball of yellow power about Ch'p's force-field. 

The golden ball exploded and the chipmunk in the green-and-black costume burst forth with an angry look on his face. His ring hand was upraised and headed for the Yellow Lantern's jaw. Well, thought the Korugan, how powerful could a chipmunk's punch be, anyway? 

He got his answer in a blow that almost dislocated his jaw and placed him firmly within the bounds of unconsciousness. 

Guess when your boss was giving lessons in will power, you were still gatherin' acorns,> sent Ch'p, rubbing his knuckles. He was glad Hal had given him the summons, after helping on Earth-X. Then he, too, looked past the unconscious, free-floating red-skinned man towards the figures that were emerging from the ships. 

All of them he was unfamiliar with. But some few of them seemed to match descriptions that he'd gotten from Hal Jordan, who had told him about a band of interplanetary freedom fighters whose path he had crossed several times, and who had helped other Earth heroes, as well. 

The big, gray bruiser who was grabbing Goldface and smashing him right in the gold face was of the approximate size and shape of one whom Hal called Broot. A light-being was blasting away at a coterie of Black Lanterns; that one must be Auron. There were others he could get a rough i.d. on....Primus, Kallista, Tigorr, for three. There were a whole legion of others, mostly non-powered, but none non-weapoened, and they had come at a most opportune time for the Lantern Corps. 

The Omega Men,> thought Ch'p. 

A white-skinned character on a space-cycle spun by, looking like he wished he could yell something stupid in the vacuum, and swung a heavy chain and hook that wrapped themselves about the necks of two Thunderers. Their lightning bolts shook out of their quivers when he pulled them behind him like a pair of unwilling skiiers. 

Wah-hoo!> sent Lobo on a common channel. Make way for the Main Man, Greenies!> 

And another of the Omegans was attacking the Qwardians with ferocity enough to make even Guy Gardner flinch. This was the Green Man, who had formerly been a Lantern himself, and he was proud to stand beside his old comrades in final battle. He sent a message clearly to the Lanterns in between blasts of his ray-weapon: 

Hal Jordan--we are here!> 

The primary Green Lantern of Earth paused in his trajectory just short of the speeding Sinestro to grin in the Omega Man's direction. Glad you could make it,> he sent. 

Star Sapphire had to materialize a shield to deflect Sinestro's ring-blast. Will you keep your mind on what you're doing, Hal?> 

Sorry about that,> sent Hal as he parried Sinestro's arm and doubled him up with a punch to the gut. 

From another sector of near-space, a golden glow purled into existence. It only lasted for a few seconds. From it, a group of four persons emerged, protected from the ravages of space by magical auras provided by their leader, the wizard called Magicko. The rest of them--the Amazon known as Strong Girl, the sword-wielding Golden Blade, and the Green Lantern known as Van Thorr, the most recent addition to the heroes of the planet Thronn. 

They, too, had been aided by Hal Jordan when one of their number had died. They, too, had a debt to repay. 

Without hesitation, Magicko shot forth a blast of eldrich power from his hand at a flying Qwardian, who was suddenly shifted through seventeen dimensions, all of which bore a resemblance to an Earthman's conceptions of Hell. He emerged catatonic, curled into a fetal ball. 

Golden Blade swung his sword and cleaved an enemy into two parts, each of them dragging globules of blood through the void. Strong Girl hurled herself at one of the largest of the Black Lanterns, bypassing his ebony beam, and smashed him so hard that the equal and opposite reaction sent him travelling for days, totally senseless. The Green Lantern of Thronn blasted away at the foemen he had only heard referenced in his few contacts with the Guardians, but was glad to come to grips with now. For the first time, he felt himself a Corpsman. 

Magicko sent a mental message that echoed through the brains of ally and enemy alike, and told all concerned who they were. 

Honor Team--strike with honor!> 

Trading blows with Sinestro, Hal Jordan had to smile. It was great to have friends. 

-S-   


The Shadow-Demons were an angry wave of black that split up into man-shaped segments and attacked. Fortunately, the people of Adon had a powerful defense force in their behalf: the Forever People, the Magic Squad, and the Kryptonian trio of Superman, Supergirl, and Dev-Em. 

Rao only knows if that'll be enough, thought Kara as she launched herself into the fray. 

"Keep them away from D'reema," shouted Mark Moonrider. His hands were still pressed tightly to the side of the Mother Box. Big Bear, Serifan, and Vykin the Black covered the other sides, and Beautiful Dreamer, daring to look out at the impending battle, squatted beneath it, her long fingers touching the Box's base. 

To an outworlder, it might feel like a mere metal artifact. But to one Attuned, as the five young Supertowners were, it felt warm, pulsing, alive. More: it seemed to have a heart. It looked after them. But, as of yet, it still could not produce the Infinity Man. 

Superman and Dev-Em pushed ahead of Kara by a nanosecond and smashed into the ebony wave, fists outthrust. "Smashed" might have been the wrong word to use, though. The shadow-beings' substance was hard to define. It varied from immaterial to crystalline to soft and pliable to...well...something else. 

And it was cold. Deathly cold. Grabbing one of them that was solid enough to grab, Supergirl couldn't suppress a shiver. Nonetheless, her fingers tightened on its midsection, which seemed to crumple inward as if she was holding a paper cutout, and crushed it. The shadow broke into shards, fell through her fingers, and, dropping towards the ground below, reformed into its man-shape like sand taking the shape of the bottom half of an hourglass. 

How in blazes could they fight these things? 

Superman and Dev were dealing out powerful blows, roundhouses that could have sent moons out of orbit, but were having the same difficulties. The shadows that they smashed before them reformed around, above, and below them. Even at super-speed, it was impossible to stem the tide. 

On impulse, Dev used his heat-vision on one of the shadows. It emitted a high, unearthly screech like a theremin from hell. The shadow-being seemed to change shape, to thin out, and, finally, to vaporize. 

"Kara, El, hit 'em with heat!" barked Dev. The other two Krypts were already following his lead. Six powerful beams of self-generated fury lanced out at the attacking wave of black. More screeches. More vaporization. 

Still they came. Supergirl glanced towards the ground. Puddles of black were congealing, flowing together, becoming shadow-beings, and menacing the Adonites nearby. The blasted things weren't dying, they were just evaporating and recondensing on the ground. 

A young Adonite male and his girl stood perilously close to the reforming shadows, were, in fact, surrounded by them, with their backs to a wall. The man broke his paralysis enough to put himself between the attackers and the girl. But that would slow them about as long as it took for grease to spatter on a hot stove. They knew it, as well. 

What they didn't know was that a blue-and-red-clad woman would swoop down from the sky, grab the both of them up, and haul them away, out of the reach of the shadows. 

"Zoth!" cried the boy. "You...you must be a Forever!" 

"Nope, sorry, I'm just a Current," answered Kara, holding one of them under each arm. She set them both down a mile distant, far out of the reach of the invaders, and was back on the battlefield within a second. 

She was amazed to see the Magic Squad in a circle about the Forever People, and holding off the tide of blackness on their own. 

Blasts of purple power emanated from Amethyst's gem and battered back the shadow-men wherever she faced, shattering or melting them. Jennifer Morgan chanted incantations, performed mystic gestures, and sent bursts of shimmering light from her pointed fingers which contacted the enemy and burst within them, scattering their substance. Rac Shade hurled himself forward at the shadows, contacting them with his M-Vest and negating them with a crackle of power. Each such action cost him physically. He looked as haggard as a man having to endure an electric shock over and over again. Still, Shade pressed on, upholding his share. 

Mellu Loron stood beside him, discharging a ray-weapon native to her dimension. It shattered the shadows as impermanently as Kal's, Dev's, and Kara's fists, but at least it kept them back for precious seconds. Harbinger, despite her weakness, hovered over the Forever People and defended from above. Her two arms were outstretched and wherever they pointed, a bolt of power lay the shadows low. But she looked sweaty, tired, and pushed to her limit. 

Nightmaster was shouting something as he unleashed the power of his humming sword against the ebon warriors of Qward. The blade's magic properties cleaved the shadows as if they were living beings, leaving the pieces alive, but flopping on the ground, trying to make contact with another part of themselves and reform. 

He reminded Supergirl of Elric in the Moorcock books she used to read. But she finally realized he was singing "Jumpin' Jack Flash". 

Within their circle, the Forever People stood, eyes closed, hands pressed to the Mother Box, as solemn and silent as if they were at a prayer meeting. 

Kara swirled around the ground-based company in a circle, contacting the shadows with her shoulder and the side of her body, knocking them away. She actually felt ice crystallizing on the side of her which hit the shadows. It couldn't work forever, but at least she'd give the Magic Squad a respite. 

Another difficulty: the outbursts of magic from Jennifer and Amethyst were weakening her, slightly. When not directed against them, magic only affected Krypts in a sidelong way, slackening their power somewhat. The difference wasn't yet great, but it could be crucial. 

"Moonrider!" Supergirl shouted. "Either get that thing working, or I'm getting you all out of here!" 

Big Bear opened his eyes. "It isn't working, Mark. We've got to fight." 

"Taaru, hear our plea," chanted Mark. "Taaru, let it reach infinity." 

"Mark," repeated Big Bear, insistently. 

Vykin finally took his hands from the Box. "Big Bear speaks truth," he said. "I will join the battle." 

Mark Moonrider opened his eyes. "Don't break faith with me, Vykin. Not in a time like this. Keep the circle unbroken." 

Vykin was already sprinting towards the circle of black held back by Supergirl and the Magic Squad. 

-S- 

Tim Hunter didn't dare touch the part of his mind that told him he was scared. 

Sure, he was about ready to pull a major whackout, if he let himself. He was in spirit-form, somehow inside the dying body of Jim Corrigan, or on another plane somehow, since this didn't look much like innards, and he was watching the inert form of the Spectre fought over by two wizards in metal helmets. 

The guy in gold and blue he had met before. He was one of the good guys, Dr. Fate, from the Earth next door to Tim's. Fate was the sorceror supreme of his world and seemed a lot more put-together than John Constantine. Certainly, he was more powerful. But the bloke he was facing seemed to have as much power as he did, or at least enough to stand him off. 

The bad guy was dressed in purple and red, with a red helmet on, and he didn't seem like the kind of guy whose face you'd want to see. 

They were having a magic punch-up, sending bolts of power, magical snares, and various other things into the space between them, over the Spectre's prone body. 

As an apprentice sorceror, Tim had no idea of how he was supposed to help out. 

Without turning his head, Fate muttered, "You should not have come here, boy." 

The villain hurled a ball of green force at Fate's helmet, but it glanced off a golden shield that Fate materialized. "It gives me another advantage," pronounced their adversary. "Let him die, or I will kill the brat." 

"NO." Dr. Fate called upon the powers of Order and the magic of ancient Chaldea and blasted away at Lord Satanis, two golden ankhs of light forming around his hands. Satanis opened a small black hole before him into which the mystic energies were funneled, then sealed it. With an offhand effort, he sent a force-blast towards Tim. 

The young mage put up his hands as if to ward off a thrown volleyball. But before the magic energies could touch him, they spattered away only a few inches beyond him. 

"A shield," Lord Satanis rasped. " I should have guessed." 

"Doctor Fate," said Tim, as soon as he could manage to speak. "Forgive me, sir, but what's going on? I don't know what this is all about, but Jim Corrigan is dyin' outside!" 

With an effort, as he counterattacked Satanis, Fate spoke. "This is Lord Satanis, an enemy of Superman's. I am attempting to keep what little of the Spectre is left on this mortal plane. He is attempting to frustrate it." 

"And I will, Fate," said Satanis, forming a horde of red, spike-toothed demons to gnaw at his foe. They touched a golden shield of force and dissipated. "With the loss of the Spectre, you lose your greatest weapon." 

A weapon? Tim had never thought of living beings as weapons before. A weapon, that was something you picked up and carried into battle (though Tim, thankfully, had never had occasion to pick up so much as a rock in what few schoolyard fights he'd had). But the Spectre, considered as a weapon, had to be the biggest gun the Phantom Stranger and his friends had in their arsenal. 

Yet the Spectre lay on what passed for ground in this realm, unmoving, unbreathing (if ghosts needed to breathe, and Tim was fairly sure they didn't), and unknowing of a conflict he probably could have ended with the power in his pinky had he been aware. 

What the heck could a teenaged kid in horn-rimmed glasses do to change the outcome of this? 

For a few more moments, Tim watched the battle. Then he raised both hands again, stepped closer, and shouted, "Stop! I mean, hold on! I've got something to say." 

Neither one of the wizards ceased blasting away at the other. But Dr. Fate said, "Say on, then." 

Tim swallowed, then went ahead. "As far as I can tell, neither one of you is makin' much headway against the other. That's right, isn't it?" 

"So?" asked Lord Satanis, unleashing yet another bolt of destruction. 

"So I just thought of something. You know who the Spectre answers to. Or Who he's supposed to." 

There was a hesitance from both warring parties. "And?" Dr. Fate prompted. 

"It seems to me that if the Spectre is supposed to stay here, he'll stay here without our interference, because that's what he'll be supposed to do," Tim continued. "But if he isn't, even you, Dr. Fate, and the Stranger, and John, and Mr. Occult and Madame Xanadu and Miss Zatanna can't keep him with us. I know I sure can't." 

"So, boy, what are you prattling about?" snarled Lord Satanis. "Do you suggest that we both stop fighting, and let Nature take its course?" 

"Yeah," said Tim. "Something like that." 

For the first time since he had arrived, Tim saw the two sorcerors stop hurling bolts at each other. 

"I have spent time enough in this realm," observed Lord Satanis. "If you will back away for a short time, Fate, to see what transpires, then so will I." 

The man in blue and gold hoarded sparks in his fists. "No more than thirty heartbeats." 

"No more than that." 

"And if there is treachery, I will detect it and stop it, and you." 

"You flatter your powers, Fate. But I swear by my empowerment that I will not intervene. The same goes for your whelp, there." 

"I'm not anybody's whelp, whatever that is," said Tim. "But I'll leave him alone, too." Not, he thought, that there was that much he could do for the Spectre in the first place. 

The two sorcerors stepped back one step apiece, and waited. 

Tim Hunter didn't dare to speak. For the first time, he took note of the setting about them. Bare rocks that didn't seem of a type in Earth's geology, withered trees, no animal life visible anywhere, and a black sky above and around them which made him wonder from what source enough light came for them to see by. The four of them were the only beings he could see. 

He had no way of counting how many heartbeats had gone by, but it seemed as though the deadline was getting nearer. The Spectre still stayed stretched out on the rocky ground as if on a morgue slab. 

Then his feet began to turn into green smoke. 

Though Fate's visage was hidden, he seemed to look upon the phenomenon with despair. In contrast, Lord Satanis raised one mail-gloved fist into the air, triumphantly. For his part, Tim Hunter scampered over to the dissolving ghost between them and sought to grasp what of him he could. 

"Tim," warned Fate. 

The boy-wizard tried to touch the Spectre, but he was already dissolved into mist up to the chest. Tim reached for the Spectre's head. In the second he had left before the line of dissolvement reached it, Tim touched the ghost's hooded cranium. 

The Spectre opened his eyes and looked at him. 

Tim shrank back. 

Within another second's time, the last bit of the Spectre had spun into white and green gas. It wafted upward on an air current none of them could physically feel, and was lost in the sky above them. 

Lord Satanis spoke. 

"The day is ours, Fate," he said. "The Spectre is no more. When next we meet, call upon all your Lords of Order. They will not save you an instant from the power which sources me." 

Then he folded his arms, shimmered, and vanished. 

Tim rushed to Dr. Fate's side. "Doc...what..." 

"He is gone," said Fate. "The Spectre has passed into the Realm Eternal." 

"Can't you...can't you ask..." 

"My prayers, Tim," Fate replied, "are no more powerful than yours. We must go." 

"But what about Lord Satanis?" 

"This battle is done. Another one will find us." 

With that, the Man of Destiny enfolded Tim in his golden cape. Before Tim could reach up to push it away from his head, both of them were within the hospital room of Jim Corrigan. 

Tim felt the fingers of Madame Xanadu interlaced with his, again. He blinked, reorienting himself to Earth's smells, touches, sounds, and sights. The first sight he saw was Madame's face, streaked with tears. 

He guessed that she had loved Jim Corrigan. 

The Phantom Stranger and Dr. Occult stood on opposite sides of Corrigan's bed, and shot a look in unison at Tim. Dr. Fate stood at the foot of the bed, his hands down, looking about as defeated as Tim had seen anybody look since the time his softball team lost a game twenty to nothing. 

Jim Corrigan lay as still as the Spectre in the bed. He was not breathing. From the smell he was exuding, Tim didn't think he was ever likely to be. 

Constantine was pacing the floor and smoking a cigarette. He fumbled another out of his coat pocket, lit it on the one he was smoking, threw the old one under his heel and ground it out, and drew a long hit off the new one. Then he faced the boy. 

"He's dead, Tim," said Constantine, without kindness. 

"I'm sorry," said Tim. "I tried to help." 

"Yeah, yeah, you tried," Constantine snapped. "We all tried. We sent you after his soul on your bloody recommendation, Stranger, because you were the one who said he'd be the best for the job–" 

"John," said the Stranger quietly. 

"–and look what's happened!" The Brit cursed. "We've balled up the thing as well as if we'd taken a bloody gun and blown his gut away ourselves! Damn it, what are we here for, anyway?" 

"John Constantine," said Madame Xanadu with great suddenness and great venom, "SHUT UP." 

Constantine's mouth was open so far Tim thought he'd surely drop the cigarette. But he didn't. The Madame went to Jim Corrigan's body and embraced him. If she cried, the angle wasn't such that Tim could see. 

"Not even Boston Brand was of help," said the Stranger. "And he tried." 

"So did we all try, John," Dr. Occult said. "Including young Hunter here. It was not in our hands." 

Dr. Fate spoke up. "It was never in our hands," he said. "Timothy Hunter pointed that out to me. But now, what remains to us is the war against evil. And in that, let us hope we can be more efficient." 

The Stranger stepped away from the bed. "I must go now," he announced, and kept walking towards the door. 

Tim started towards him. "Stranger, where're you going? Shouldn't you stay and help us?" 

"I must walk where the path leads me," he said, not turning. "Mayhap it will join your paths again soon, my friends. Until then, I must remain a stranger." 

"But, Stranger–" 

Fate's gold-gloved hand stopped the boy. "Let him go, Tim. Let him go." 

The Phantom Stranger opened the door, walked through, and let it shut behind him. Tim knocked Fate's hand away, ran to the door, and pulled it open. 

Several doctors, nurses, and patients, one in a wheelchair, were in the hall outside. Tim looked up and down the hall. "Where'd he go?" 

One doctor, clipboard in hand, stopped. "Who? Where'd who go, son? And what are you doing here?" 

"A guy in a, in a kind of opera cape," said Tim. "He just went out before me." 

The doctor looked quizzically at him, and a nurse joined him in that. "Nobody's opened that door in the last minute except you," said the doctor. 

Tim whipped his head back in astonishment to look back into the hospital room. Madame Xanadu, Dr. Occult, John Constantine, and what was left of Jim Corrigan were still there. Fate had left without a sound. The window was still shut. 

Constantine stuck his head out of the door. "You'd better send somebody in here," he said. "We've lost him."   


-S- 

The Chicago cops had to figure out a way to keep a man-shaped mass of lava, a living robot, a big alien with no face, a sorceress, and a number of other bad guys under wraps now. Fortunately, all of the specified villains were unconscious. Except for Multi-Woman and Ultivac, whose metallic bodies were separated into several components by great tree roots which had sprung from the ground, entangled them, and dismembered them. 

This last was the work of the Swamp Thing, who had travelled the botanical highway to the Windy City to help his friends, the Challengers of the Unknown, as well as the Forgotten Heroes, the Doom Patrol, and the Warlord. Many of the others recognized the plantworld prince from the meeting aboard the Monitor's satellite, when they had all been summoned by Harbinger, Alex Luthor, and Pariah. Nonetheless, they were still awed. 

Prof Haley was the first to grasp Swampy's leafy hand, which still bore the foilage of the potted plant within which he'd had to manifest himself. "Glad you could make it," said Prof, June Robbins standing beside him. "We'd have had a tougher time against this crew without you." 

"The Green...told me...of your need," answered the Swamp Thing with some effort. "Much chaos remains...but I chose to...aid my friends first." 

Animal-Man said, "Whoa, if you're a walking, talking plant...I guess between you and me, we've got the whole biosphere represented." 

Everyone ignored him, or tried to. Travis Morgan said, "Guess I'm stuck up here until somebody can give me a lift to the North Pole. Any takers?" 

"I'll fly you up there myself when we get a chance," Ace Morgan answered. "Right now, we've still got a lot to do." 

"The Challenger speaks truth," said Tempest. "Until this crisis is over, none of us may call their lives their own." 

At that, Corinna Stark, who also wore a Challengers uniform, suddenly jerked, focused her eyes, and said, "Well, some of us can claim 'em more than others can, take it from me." 

Rocky Davis, nearest Corinna, looked at her with surprise. Her current speech pattern was as alien to her normal mode of talking as a street kid's was to a professor's. "Cory?" 

"Nope, not Cory," she said. "Sorry, Rock. Just wanted to let Mr. Roots there know that he's wanted in Atlantis." 

"Atlantis?" said the Warlord, looking up. 

"Not yours, the one under the water," Corinna Stark said. "I've been there before. Rama Kushna's pulling me that way, and he wants you to come along, Swamp." 

The Swamp Thing shambled up to her, looked deeply enough into her eyes to unnerve June Robbins and make Robotman ready for action, and said, "I know you." 

"Know me? I've been inside you," remarked Corrina. June's jaw dropped with astonishment. "Come on, time's a-wastin'." Corinna closed her eyes and fell back into Rocky's arms. She blinked, then looked up at him. 

"Why are you holding me like this?" 

"'Cause you fell down like that," he responded. 

The Swamp Thing said, "I must go." The body he occupied fell to the sidewalk in a clump of roots, stems, leaves, and soil. The being formerly inside it was miles away by the time it hit. 

Celsius and Negative Woman stepped towards the vegetable mass in wonder. "Can anybody," said Cliff Steele, "I mean, anybody, tell me what just happened?"   


"I'll see if I can tell you in private," said Prof. 

Rocky helped Corinna back to her feet. "I'm sorry," she said. "I've never actually fainted before.   
I can't imagine what got into me." 

Prof looked at her, considered her area of expertise, and then said, "Oh, I think you can." 

-S- 

On Apokolips, Kalibak sat at his father's feet in what passed for a throne room and waited for him to speak. 

Sometimes Darkseid's silences could be murderous to endure. He could sit for eternities, just thinking. But if one fidgeted too obviously in his presence, one chanced the mildest raking with the Omega Effect. And that was something that Kalibak was not eager to experience again. 

So, despite the fact that every nerve and muscle in his primitively-formed body wished for him to be in action again, Kalibak sat by his father's feet and waited for the word. 

Finally, it came. 

"It is a burdensome thing, Kalibak," said Darkseid. "A most burdensome thing. To make war on five universes, and then on New Genesis. Anyone else would break under the strain." 

Kalibak knew not to interrupt his father, even with an agreement. 

"Nonetheless, it must be done. The forces must be gathered, their rewards must be promised and meted out in part, their disobedience punished. All to keep the defenders of the five Earths occupied, and confused. All of it...nothing more than busy work." 

Kalibak dared to lift his head, and was not penalized. 

"The only true objectives I have, the only ones which matter, are the one lying in Desaad's chamber below and the one whom we have discovered to be on Adon, a dimension away. Until the one gives up his secret, and until the other is placed under control, all of this, the war across five cosmoses...none of it matters in the least." 

The brute son of Darkseid kept his peace, and dared to hope. 

"Desaad has been working diligently with Orion. But the secret still eludes him. He has asked for time off to work with the outworlder, Pariah. I might give Orion into your hands for a time." 

Kalibak jerked his head up. His breathing came faster, and his hand, without conscious volition, groped for the warclub he had laid on the stone floor by his side. 

"But listen well," cautioned Darkseid. "His life must be spared. Only Desaad has the finesse to prise the Anti-Life Equation from Orion's brain. Your amusement is not to endanger my prize. If it does, if I lose the Equation because of your impreciseness, then what he suffers will not be half of the pain you will experience. Understand me well on that, Kalibak. You will do what I prescribe, and not a fraction more." 

Darkseid looked at his son full in the face. Assured that he wanted a response, Kalibak said, "Aye, father." 

"And when Desaad returns, you are to leave off your efforts. Is that understood?" 

"Aye, father," Kalibak repeated. Then, after a pause, he said, "But may I watch?" 

"No," said Darkseid. "Desaad says you make him nervous. His science and art depend on his precision." 

Kalibak looked glum. Then, a second later, he said, "Then may I watch on viewscreen?" 

Darkseid glanced at him again. "Provided Desaad knows nothing of the camera source. He does not like people to watch him at work." 

The Apokoliptic with the body of a caveman bowed his shaggy head. "Great Darkseid is most bountiful." 

"Great Darkseid is most tired and frustrated," said his father. "You are dismissed." 

Kalibak backed away from the chamber, touching his forehead to the floor three times. Once out the door, he sprang to his feet, club in hand. Swinging the weapon like a baton, Kalibak hummed a song to himself, gave a dog-trooper in the hall a playful whack, and crippled him for life. 

A lift or two and a number of corridors later, he was at Desaad's chamber. A sensor recognized him and passed him through. Beyond the door, he gazed at the sight before him. Desaad was placing some metallic instruments in a soaking solution, then plunging his own hands into a small basin of antiseptic and scrubbing them. 

It was obvious from the redness on his sleeves and tunic that he'd have to change robes before he left. 

Desaad looked back at Kalibak. "Oh. Are you authorized to be here?" 

Kalibak strode in, his warclub slapping against his leg. "I am authorized to be anywhere." 

The cowled man looked petulantly at him. "Come, you know what I mean. No one is allowed in here except myself, the Great One, and my clients." 

"The Great One knows that you wish to be with another client. He has sent me here to spell you while you work elsewhere." 

Desaad pulled his hands out of the solution and wiped them dry with a towel. Suspiciously, he said, "Mine is a work of great precision, Kalibak." 

"Yours is only more refined butchery than mine," rasped the other. "But I have my orders. I will leave him healthy enough for your work. I will only keep him occupied." 

"Just so," said Desaad. "And these orders came from Darkseid himself?" 

"From his very mouth." 

"Be careful, then," said Desaad, throwing the towel at him. "Be very, very careful." He walked past Kalibak, who was trembling in rage. Once Desaad was out the door, Kalibak tore the towel in half. 

Then he trudged over to the metal table on which Orion was lying. The paralysis beam still shone down on him, prohibiting any living being from laying hands on him and still remaining mobile. But Desaad had installed many mechanical contrivances within its hood, which could be manipulated by a control board, and not all of them were devoted to mental probing. 

Many of them were sharp indeed. 

Kalibak was able to fathom the control board in a short time. "My brother, for the first time, you shall be glad when Desaad returns." 

A needle-nosed device headed for Orion's body. The warrior of New Genesis tried to preserve a stoic image. 

But when it penetrated, not even the paralysis beam could prevent his muscles from tightening in agony. 

At the same time, Desaad had changed into a new robe and padded on sandalled feet past a coterie of guards, down a hallway, down several levels, and into the second of his sancti sanctorum, the one which contained Pariah. 

Mongul was standing on guard. "You may go now," said Desaad. 

"I may go now?" rumbled Mongul, towering even more fully, if it was possible, over the small Apokoliptic. "I may? Know you that I command an entire empire? That I have the power to stand against Superman with naught but my own strength, and triumph? That I could tear the hooded head from your puny shoulders as easily as you would tear the wings from a fly? That I could..." 

"You may go, Mongul," said Desaad. "You know I don't like others around when I work." 

"Bah!" snarled Mongul. If it wasn't for the fact that Darkseid was boss–for the moment–he would have shown Desaad what torture really was. Turning on his heel, he stomped out of the door. 

Desaad closed the double doors to his chamber by remote control. Mongul could batter through them, and so could someone of Orion's or Kalibak's caliber, but they would prove bulwark against normal Apokolips guards. 

With a sigh of relief, he tiptoed over to the table on which Pariah lay under a paralysis beam like Orion's. The man's eyes were closed. 

"Sleeping?" said Desaad. "We can't have that, oh, no we can't. You must be up for the performance. Do you know–can you imagine how much a relief it is to be able to torture a mind, instead of having to work on a body like a common butcher? True, there are delights in the latter. But the pure refinement of hurting a mind, now, that's a delight to be savored indeed. It demands creativity. It demands art. And a man of your capacities, well, I'm sure you can appreciate it. Now, I've added a few tweaks to the program, and I'm anxious to get underway. So I'll just go over there and sound the wake-up alarm until you open your eyes, and then we can get started." 

A hand buried itself in his shirtfront. 

Pariah's eyes were open. 

"Don't bother. I'm already up." 

Desaad had time to say the word "No" three times before Pariah's fist came up and hit him in the nose. 

The gray-haired scientist rolled off the table and grabbed the whimpering torturer with both hands, hauling him to his feet from the spot where he had crumpled on the floor. "There's an alarm system in here, you said," Pariah snapped. "Deactivate it." 

"I–I–" 

Pariah backhanded him so savagely that his head whipped to the side. The savant himself was nauseated by his action. But it was necessary, he told himself. 

"P-please," gasped Desaad. "No more pain." 

Pariah's fist hovered near Desaad's face. The robed man went to a control panel, followed closely by his former guest, and deactivated the alarm. "They, they may already know," he stammered, pressing a hand under his nose. 

"Then we'll just have to get out of here before they come, won't we?" 

Desaad stared at him, open-mouthed. This could not be happening. He could not have lost control of the situation. He could not be feeling pain. 

But, as he gingerly touched his throbbing nose, he had to admit that he was. 

"Is there an exit from here except through those doors?" demanded Pariah. 

Desaad nodded. "A secret passageway. It connects to most of the rooms here in case of...in case of invasion." He looked at his hand. "Oh, Source. Blood. I think I'm going to..." 

Pariah grabbed him by the shoulder. "You are not going to faint. If you try to, I will certainly break your neck. Is that clear?" 

Again, the Apokoliptic nodded. 

"Good. Then show me the way out." 

Desaad went to the north wall of the room, shunted aside a camouflaged panel, and pressed his eyes to a scanner. A second later, a section of the wall moved inward, revealing a passageway dimly lit by overhead lights. Pariah shoved Desaad in, a hand grabbing the back of his cowl, and followed. The door closed behind them. 

"Keep moving," ordered Pariah. 

Obediently, Desaad began walking forward. "How," he began. "How did you." 

"Your artistry was perhaps too good for your purpose," said Pariah, evenly. "After awhile, one can build up a resistance even to the fears you present. You merely scared me so much early on, that the later shocks became old business. Not that I let you know. As for how I got out, I was awake when Mongul brought me to this chamber. His attention wasn't on me fully. I was the greatest scientist of my planet. I know how to sabotage a simple paralysis beam in seconds. From that point on–I simply faked it." 

He kept one hand firmly on Desaad's shoulder, and added, "But there was one thing more. After all those tears I shed for the worlds I saw die, and their peoples...after all that time I spent being a victim, a pawn in the hands of Fate and the Anti-Monitor, and then Darkseid...I decided it was time to try being a hero myself." 

Desaad shivered. This man might possibly be insane. He might have driven him to that, with the shock treatment. He might even want to...to hurt him. 

"Does this passageway connect to where you're keeping Harbinger and the others?" 

"No," lied Desaad. Then a pinching movement on a nerve in his shoulder made him cry out. "Aughh! Yes, yes, it does! Stop! Stop!" 

"Take me to them, and nowhere else," said Pariah. "Or I'll deal you out a tenth of what you've been dealing to other people." 

Desaad, staining the underarms of his robe with sweat, moved on, in the direction of the prison chambers. 

-S- 

Even Metron seemed eager for action, as much as could be told. Jezebelle thought he acted somewhat like that long-eared character in a TV program she'd watched sometimes when she was staying in Metropolis, Star Track or something. She'd thought it was a historical drama of Earth's. But, in his Mobius Chair, he was fidgeting. 

Both of them, along with Lightray, Bug, and Fastbak stood in the throneroom of Highfather. Himon, who had been the one to teach Scott Free the escape secrets that freed him from Apokolips, was also there, and the Female Furies were waiting in an antechamber. 

Lightray spoke. "We cannot leave Orion to the mercies of Apokolips, Highfather. Even if Darkseid has the services of every villain in the Multiverse, we must dare them." 

"It is not from cowardice or lack of concern that I have held back," said Izaya. "It is from fear that Darkseid might kill Orion outright if he thought he would lose him, and my need to have D'reema here before we proceed. However–" And at this, Highfather paused, bundling up his pain within him. "–however, I cannot bear to know my son is in the hands of the butcher Desaad. We must bear knowledge that Darkseid may thus be luring our forces into a trap. Nonetheless, it must be dared. Gather your forces and go. To Apokolips." 

"What of the three whom you sent to Adon?" asked Fastbak. "Do you know of them?" 

"I have monitored them somewhat," said Highfather. "They are embroiled in battle, but the outcome has not come to pass. Go." 

Metron finally spoke. "What does the Source counsel in all of this?" 

"I have not consulted it," said Highfather. "Go!" 

The five New Gods left Izaya's presence. For a long moment, he sat in his throne, bearded head downward, clutching his staff. He dared not leave New Genesis undefended, but he could not keep himself from the conflict much longer. 

He would simply have to trust Orion to his lieges, and take action on another front. 

In the antechamber, just as Jezebelle was giving walking orders to Stompa, Lashina, Mad Harriet, and Bernadeth, a booming noise was heard from the throneroom of Highfather. 

"A Boom Tube," she said, and before she had finished saying it, Fastbak had thrown open the door himself and was in time to see the glowing circle fade out, leaving the room empty. 

"He's gone," observed Bug. 

"Gone where?" demanded Lashina. "If Darkseid would dare strike this close–" 

"Not Darkseid," said Fastbak, braking to a halt before them. "I saw within the Tube for an instant. It was Highfather only. I could not tell what lay beyond, but it did not appear to be Apokolips." 

"Then we'll just have to find out where he went and go after him," declared Stompa, her massive foot twitching with eagerness for battle. 

"No," pronounced Metron, hovering above the floor in his Mobius Chair. "We have our orders. To Apokolips we must go, to free Orion." 

"None must know of Izaya's abscence," said Himon. "Darkseid would invade in an instant." 

"Let us hope the matter can be kept a secret," Metron observed. "At least, until he and we return." 

With that, Metron opened another trans-dimensional Boom Tube, large enough to take on all of them. Jezebelle flashed on the fact that both he and Himon were the creators of the Tube, and both of them were the first to enter it. 

The rest followed. She and Forager were the last. The Bug said quickly to her, "Jezebelle, do you suppose we could do this holding hands?" 

"Oh–" She sighed, but gave him her hand. He took it, and both of them hurled themselves into the Tube. 

The worlds between slipped by in a cylindrical warp-space. She had time to admit to herself that Bug had seemed to be nursing a crush on her for some time, but hadn't done anything about it. 

As the end of the tube loomed closer, she hoped that he'd keep it under control for awhile. At least until they'd survived, or died. 

-S- 

The Forever People had struck back against the shadow-demons. Big Bear hurled boulders and large objects at them, ranging from statues to oxcarts. Serifan had unleashed the powers of the Cosmic Cartridges he kept in his headband, dissipating some, shattering others. Mark Moonrider had blown apart the foes with his megaton touch. Vykin's Magna-Power repelled all the shadows within its reach. 

Shade, Mellu, Nightmaster, Amethyst, and Jennifer Morgan still battled on, and Superman and Dev-Em sought to stem the tidal wave of black. 

It wasn't enough. 

The shadow-beings were now targeting the people of Adon themselves, which the heroes had feared would happen. Despite their efforts, they could not prevent some Adonites from receiving the touch of freezing death from Darkseid's warriors, though the speedy Kryptonian trio kept the casualties to an absolute minimum–and cursed themselves for every life lost. 

Harbinger stood beside Beautful Dreamer, who held the Mother Box. Supergirl, leaving off a whirlwind she had created to sweep a battalion of shadows away, saw a massive anvil of blackness deploying in their direction. 

The only objective the shadows really had was D'reema. Kara realized that even as she shot in their direction, outpacing the dark beings by only a matter of seconds. 

In one instant, Harbinger's and Beautiful Dreamer's feet were on the ground. In the next, they were planted in air, clutched under the arms of the caped girl in red and blue. If Dreamer hadn't clutched the Mother Box firmly under her arm, she would have dropped it. 

"Get us out of here," snapped Supergirl to Harbinger. 

"Where?" asked Lyla. 

"I'm not a travel bureau! Just get us out!" 

So Harbinger exercised her teleportational powers, lessened to be sure by the fact that a fragment of herself was a captive of Darkseid, attuned the three of them to a vibrational rate of another universe, and sent them elsewhere. 

Dev-Em, blasting heat-vision at a phalanx of shadows, turned his head in time to see the three of them winking out. "Kara!" he yelled. 

Superman heard it. His response was as quick as Dev-Em's. But as quick as the two of them were, neither could outrace the warp. 

"Where's she gone?" demanded Dev. "Where, dammit?" 

"Don't know," admitted Superman, not looking at Dev. Then both their attentions were drawn by a new sound. An explosion. 

A glowing circle near the ground was its source. Through it, propelled by an energy all his own, flew a bearded and robed man holding a staff. 

Big Bear, holding a boulder at chest-height, stopped and gaped. "Highfather," he said. "Izaya!" 

The lord of New Genesis lifted one hand into the air and sent a stream of white, energy-shaped bullets upward. They homed in on shadows, and whomever they hit vanished. 

Jennifer Morgan grasped Amethyst's hand. "Come on, Amy," she said. "I don't know what he's doing, but let's give that guy a hand!" 

The two sorceresses ran to Izaya's side, grasped an upraised arm each, and, with a quick assertion of spells, poured their own mystic power into him. It was not an energy Izaya was used to, but he made use of it. The Alpha Bullets emerged with greater frequency and strength. 

Superman said, "Dev. While they're on the defensive–let's find the warp they're coming through and close it." 

"And here I thought I was the brains on this team," remarked Dev. The two Kryptonians employed their super-vision to find the dimensional opening, invisible to unaided human eyes, through which the shadow-demons were emerging. It was probably no bigger than ten feet in diameter, but the shadows were still coming through like soldiers from a troop carrier. 

The Man of Steel and his worldsman flew to opposite sides of the circular warp and set their hands against its edges. The shadows grasped for them, covered them, assaulted them with chilling energies even they could not shrug off. But both Kryptonians exerted their planet-moving strength in conjunction. Each pressed against an edge of the warp with all his might. The shadows, knowing what they attempted , emitted shrill cries and intensified their touches. 

Within three seconds, an explosion scattered Superman, Dev, and a small horde of shadows. A burst of light blinded even the two heroes for an instant. When it was done, the warp was no more, and the shadow-beings, even those clutching the two from Krypton, seemed to hang in indecision. 

One of the shadows, who had been unlucky enough to be partially within the warp, existed only from the stomach up. 

Then an Alpha Bullet struck him and he screeched into nonexistence. 

More such bullets followed. Superman and Dev, whirling at super-speed, spun the mob of attackers off of themselves. Their uniforms were caked with frost. Neither of them could ignore the pain that the shadows had inflicted. 

But, within a few minutes more, the Alpha Bullets had destroyed the greater part of the shadows, and the other heroes took care of the rest. 

With that, Dev and Superman alit on the ground, near Izaya and the other converging heroes. Dev said, "Glad you decided to crash the party." 

Superman said, "I wouldn't exactly call it a time for joking, Dev. Over 40 Adonites died in this attack. I saw them. We've won–but we didn't win enough." 

"Your performance was valorous indeed, Superman," said Izaya. "As was yours, outworlder, and that of Moonrider and his unit. I regret that I did not appear sooner. But where is D'reema? Did they indeed manage to take her?" 

Amethyst piped up. "Sir, I'm sorry, but Supergirl took her and Harbinger away. They all vanished." 

"Yeah, and we don't know where they went," added Dev, grimly. "But we're going to find them." 

Highfather paused, and then stated, "Only if Darkseid does not find them first." 

-S- 

Lucas Carr had been many things in his time, though mostly he was remembered (by those who took note of such things) in the context of a team he had once almost been part of. After graduating college, he fell on hard times, until landing a gig as an assistant to Fred Danvers, Supergirl's foster father. Recently, though, he'd developed his talent for cartooning again, and was drawing super-hero comics. He wasn't in the same league as Byrne and Miller, but he was making good money at it. At the moment, he was in the midst of a BRAVE AND THE BOLD filler featuring Batman teamed with Spy Smasher. 

A voice behind him said, "Lucas Carr, I have need of you." 

He got such a start from it that he knocked his bottle of Higgins ink off the drawing board. The voice was creepy, but he had met the person to whom it belonged. Still, nobody ever got used to this cat. "The Phantom Stranger," breathed Carr. "What in blazes are you here for?" 

"I cannot stay long with you, Lucas," the dark-clothed Stranger warned. "Even now, we stand on the edge of a battlefield that engulfs five Earths, and perhaps more. You are needed." 

"Me?" He gaped. "You really want me? I mean, after that business with John Dough? And the Star-Tsar? And..." 

The Stranger looked deeply into Carr's eyes, even though the latter wasn't able to make out much detail of the Stranger's eyes himself. "You have wrought some evil. But you also worked much good, in the past. Now I offer you the chance to walk the right-hand path again. Speak quickly, or lose your chance for redemption. Speak, as once I had to speak myself." 

Lucas only hesitated a moment. "Whatever it is, Stranger, I'm in. Just let me call my boss." 

"There is no time," said the Stranger, and grasped Lucas's hand. He dragged the two of them forward, towards and then through a wall. 

Lucas wasn't sure where they were going. 

But, for the first time in a very long while, he felt his finger and thumb rubbing against each other, and making a strong series of snaps. 

To be continued...   



	17. Part 17:  In the Dungeons of Darkseid

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 17: In the Dungeons of Darkseid 

by DarkMark 

After the dark but rainbow-shot pulsing of the interdimensional gulf, Supergirl, Beautiful Dreamer, and Harbinger emerged into the brightness of day on another Earth. There was a slight pop as the warp closed behind them. Not as loud as a Boom Tube, thank Rao, but audible. 

The three women streaked across the afternoon sky, a half-mile above the tops of the skyscrapers. "Got any idea where we are?" asked Kara, who was already scoping out the scenes at ground-level with her telescopic and X-ray visions. 

"It's not New Genesis," said D'reema, appraisingly. 

"We're on another Earth," said Harbinger. "I chose one close enough to our own primary system, but not one of the Prime Five. We might be followed here, but it'll take more time." 

"That's always nice to know," Supergirl answered. The two of them weren't too visible from street level, but they'd be showing up on radar. The IFF device in her belt that tipped off Earth-One governments of her identity might not be effective here. She angled their flight to bring them closer to the Earth they flew over. "Have you ever been here before, Lyla?" 

The red-helmeted girl shook her head. "It may be, probably is, one of the Earths I surveyed with the Monitor's instruments. But I won't know which until we have some more reference points." 

"Such as which heroes, if any, this Earth is hosting." 

"Exactly." 

Beautiful Dreamer looked concerned. "What about my people on Adon? What about my brothers and sisters, Supergirl? They still face the shadows." 

"We'll just have to assume that my cousin and the others can keep them safe," said Kara. "Because right now, our main concern is going to be keeping you safe." 

"I am flattered," said D'reema. "But if Darkseid is sending troops against us, should we not be in your universe, where we can lend our might against the foe?" 

"What we're doing is playing for time, and there's probably not much of that," said Lyla. "If Darkseid can find you on Adon–" 

"He probably found them by monitoring us," said Supergirl. "Darkseid's got ways of seeing things even my vision powers can't get to." 

"Which means," said Dreamer, "he might be able to find us here." 

Silence. 

"Do you see any flat humanoid shadows materializing in the sky?" snapped Kara. 

"No, but–" 

"Then I'd assume he hasn't tracked us yet." 

D'reema, Kara noted, at least possessed a decent knowledge of when to shut up. 

She exhaled. "Any objections to changing to our civilian i.d.'s? Just in case they're not used to flying women in these parts?" 

"I have no problem with that," said Lyla. Kara arrowed them both to the roof of a skyscraper, taking note with her vision powers of how many people were looking through building windows and pointing at them. The building roof was abandoned at the moment. After a quick X-ray scan, she pushed open the doors of a stairwell and took them both down it. A guard was on his way up. 

One quick-change and two rearrangements of clothing molecules later, all there was for the guard to see was three decent-looking women. A brunette in a medium-length black skirt and white blouse, a black-haired bomb in an orange maxi, and a blonde in an archaic purple dress. "Afternoon, ladies," said the man. 

"Hi," replied Kara. The three of them continued on until they were past him, then opened a door onto one of the floors. Their heels clicked on the flooring as they passed by a number of offices. 

"So what do we do now?" asked D'reema. "Do we just---hide?" 

"Unless you've got a better idea, I'd say, yes, we hide, and find a place to sleep before long," said Supergirl. "I'm not sure my American Express card will work on this world." 

"Oh, never you mind about that," said Lyla, smiling. She pulled out a purse that, somehow, Kara was sure hadn't been there a second before. "I've world-hopped before. I always bring enough money." 

"It might not be the kind of cash they'll accept here," warned Kara. "There might be different faces on the dollar bills. On Earth-3, according to Kal, a one-spot had King George on it." 

The girl in the 1890's dress opened her purse and pulled out a wad of century notes. "These adapt to the planet we're currently occupying," she said. "If need be, the purse produces coins, gems, or even living objects." 

"A useful thing indeed," noted D'reema. 

"Counterfeiting," observed Kara. 

Lyla sniffed. "Indeed not. Only convienience. Shall we find a room, ladies?" 

On the way out, in the lobby, the three of them passed a first-floor store with a magazine rack. Kara stopped with her hand on the pushbar of the glass door, so abruptly that Dreamer bumped into her back. "Umph," said the black-haired girl. "Supergirl, what–" 

"Shush! Call me Linda when I'm like this," she hissed. "And I don't know what Earth we're on, but I know somebody we can pay a call on. I hope." 

Lyla looked in the direction Kara was looking, and saw, after a second, what the Kryptonian had seen. An issue of Time Magazine, with a color photograph and a large cutline below it on the cover. 

The photo was of a teenager in a blue, red, and yellow costume, and the cutline read: SUPERBOY—FOR REAL. 

Kara told Lyla to buy them a copy. 

-S- 

Below the waves, the battle went badly for the forces of Atlantis. The Deep Six, by name Slig, Gole, Pyron, Shaligo, Jaffar, Trok, had buttressed the forces of Ocean Master and were driving the defenders back further and further into the city. Aquaman had summoned whales, sharks, electric eels, even giant squid to their aid, and the Apokoliptic forces were barely delayed by them. 

The Sea King guessed that Darkseid had somehow recreated the robot trio, Magneto, Claw, and   
Torpedo-Man, with the help of some of his other enemies. The resources the Lord of Apokolips commanded had to be unimaginable. If only they could be turned to something beneficial, instead of this insane gladiatorial combat. If only he could be left to govern his subsea nation, instead of having to fight idiots in costumes whenever they paid a call. 

There wasn't time for contemplation. The lives of the Atlantean people were at stake. The call had gone out to the Justice League for help, but they were obviously too busy. He turned to Mera. "I want you out of here," he said. 

"No," she said, looking at the enemy. 

"You're going to bear our child, Mera. I'm ordering you as the king of Atlantis to leave. Get away while you can." 

"And as the queen of Atlantis, I countermand that order, Arthur," she answered. "This is my home as well, now, Arthur, and these are my people and my friends. If they die, I die with them." 

One of the enemy swam forward, a grin of death on his face. "That may be a prophecy, Mera. Believe it." 

Aquaman saw the man, and a snarl reflexed itself over his face. "Oceanus!" he yelled, and thrust forward to meet him. Mera called at him to come back, but it was too late. It had been years since either of them saw the other, but neither had cause to forget. 

Oceanus had been a renegade of Mera's other-dimensional water world. He had come with her to Earth-One and helped her seize power when she thought Aquaman had spurned her, though the only reason he seemed to have was because he had been named king of the realm and as such, had to marry an Atlantean. He had almost destroyed Aquaman and Aqualad with the hard-water powers of his people, but she turned against him, seeing what she was abetting, and drove him away but lost her own powers for a time. Afterward, Aquaman declared her an honorary Atlantean, and they were wed. Oceanus had returned to his world, and had not come back, until now. 

Arthur knew that he had no counter to his foe's hard-water power. The only thing he could count on was his own speed and strength. Initially, it was enough. He blasted through the water between them and landed a haymaker on Oceanus's jaw that sent the villain spinning backward. "Attaway, Aquaman!" prompted Aqualad, who was busy, with Aquagirl, fighting off some more enemies. 

Unfortunately, Oceanus was hurt, but not kayoed. Angrily, as he fell, he stretched out his arm towards Aquaman. The Sea King tried to dodge, to dart away, but the otherworlder's power was too quick. Bands of hardness formed from the very water itself, becoming denser, shaping themselves at Oceanus's command. They tightened about his chest and arms, his legs, his throat. He telepathed desperately to the sea life about him: Attack Oceanus! Before he can strangle me!>, but the villain had already surrounded himself with a water-bubble. The hammerhead sharks and octopi battered against it fruitlessly. 

Mera stretched forth her own arm and concentrated. A pair of hard-water hammers materialized, split, neared Oceanus, drew back, and then came together in a great BONG! against his shield. Two more hammerings and the shield cracked. The villain dodged past the hammers and the fragments of his bubble, bound to take the battle to Mera. 

Another figure darted before him, blocking his way. "That'll be enough of that, sonny," the interloper said. 

Oceanus gaped. The character before him was an old man, possibly topping sixty years of age. And yet, he was dressed in the same outfit as Aquaman, except for his gloves, which were yellow. In fact, he even looked similar to the man who was being crushed in Oceanus's hard-water grip. He looked ridiculous. 

"Out of my way, old jellyfish," snapped Oceanus, and tried to push past him. 

"Old jellyfish?" retorted the Earth-Two Aquaman. "Old?" 

With that, he brought up an uppercut that started somewhere below his waistline, impacted on Oceanus's jaw, broke it, and continued upward in a follow-through. The water-bands about the younger Aquaman faded. 

Old Aquaman rubbed the knuckles of his yellow-gloved hand. Mera was already at Arthur's side, wresting away the last of the water bands. "Is he all right?" asked the older man. 

Mera nodded. "He'll be fine. Thanks for your help." 

"Don't mention it. Been too long since I've been in a good fight. Anyways, I never cottoned to smart-mouthed shrimp." 

A ray-blast scattered the lot of them. When the water became less heated and bubbly, Arthur Curry looked and saw Ocean Master not far before him, with several of the Deep Six at his back. 

"As above, so below, dear brother," commented Ocean Master. "I've instructed the Deep Six not to kill you—quite. As for the rest, including this old character, well, they won't have to be so fussy." 

"We'll show you fussy, seashell-head," snapped Natalia Perkins, swimmng up with her father Neptune and her mother Tsunami. "We'll show you Davy Jones's real locker!" 

"Shall we kill them now?" asked Slig, one of the gruesome, green, scale-covered monstrosities that made up the Deep Six, Darkseid's elite underwater troops. 

"Go ahead," said Ocean Master. Save Aquaman for–for–" 

He stopped. 

Before his eyes, vegetation was coiling up from the ocean floor. 

A mass of seaweed, growing thicker and stronger than any Arthur had ever seen, even in the Sargasso Sea, sprang up into being. The eyes of both defenders and attackers grew wide. Jaws dropped. Magneto ripped at a batch of it with his robotic strength. It just grew back again. 

Then he found the stuff coiling into his metallic body, coming through his slightest joints and intake valves, insinuating itself into his machinery, expanding with force, and, quickly, crushing his inner circuitry and destroying him. 

Similar fates befell Claw and Torpedo-Man, Magneto's two robot brethren. Karla, the flame-hair, tried to burn the stuff, but a tendril coiled about her neck and choked her unconscious. The Un-Thing's invisibility was negated by a large vegetative clump outlining and restraining him. The Human Flying Fish tried to get away, but another strand lassoed him about the feet and pulled him down to the ocean floor. 

"Arthur, what in Neptune's name is going on here?" Aquagirl was still holding the Fisherman tight in a scissors grip while Aqualad's blows to their foe's head and gut barely slackened, even though he, too, was agape at the developments. 

"I don't know, but at this point, I don't care!" Aquaman surged forward, evaded several rayblasts, and came to grips with Ocean Master. He stared into the lenses that covered his half-brother's eyes. "This time I'm not letting you go, Orm. This time, you're going down for it." 

"Brave words, Arthur," sneered Ocean Master. "You've never been able to kill me, anymore than I could kill you. Sometimes I wish I was still amnesiac." 

Aquaman unleashed a blow that almost shattered Orm's helmet, almost injured his neck, and definitely left Ocean Master unconscious. 

"Maybe you'll get lucky with that one, then," muttered the sea king. 

The Deep Six were flailing about in the grip of the seaweed, which had grown as thick and powerful as the roots of a redwood. Those farthest from the battle site, with a bit of perspective, were horrified to see what looked like the rudiments of a face in the weed-growth. 

Then one of the Six was squeezed a bit too hard, and his head popped off. 

It trailed lubricant and transmission fluid, not blood. 

Lori Lemaris, closest to the site, her upper body sheathed in battle armor and her hands holding a blaster, looked at it in awe and comprehension. "Androids. Arthur...these six monsters are just androids!" 

"As if that makes a difference," grated Aquaman II, Old Aquaman's son, giving a hard elbow to the Human Flying Fish's face. 

Jerro, Merman, and Man-Fish were battling Black Manta and his men, all of whom were as astonished as the others at the vegetative developments. Neptune and Natalia Perkins were fighting off the Scavenger and the Huntress, respectively. Tsunami was using her wave-power to sweep away some of the enemy sub-vessels. 

Without the presence of the Deep Six, the tide of battle–or at least its subcurrent–had turned. 

In a few more minutes, it was ended. 

Aquaman's gills drew in deep breaths. Carnage, destruction, but not perhaps as bad as it might have been. Luckily, not many lives had been lost. The Twin Cities would have to rebuild, but they had done that before. This battle, at least, was won. 

He signalled to Aqualad. "Get 'em secured and jailed, Minnow. If there's a second wave behind this one, I want us ready for it." 

"Will do, Aquaman," said Garth. "But please, don't call me 'Minnow' anymore. Okay?" 

The Sea King smiled, tiredly. "Will do, Garth. On your way, get Dr. Vulko. I'd like to talk to him." 

Aquaman II pointed at the seaweed mass, which had grown a large and distinctive head. "Don't you think you'd better talk to him first?" 

The heroes who weren't occupied with disarming and trussing up villains followed Aquaman to the seaweed creature. Old Aquaman floated side-by-side with Arthur. His eyes narrowed. True, he'd seen a lot above and below the sea in his sixty-plus years, but he'd never seen a phenomenon like this. 

"Can you...talk?", asked Aquaman. 

The head's eyes, red and unsettling, focused on him. "What would...you like me...to say?" 

"We'd like to thank you for your help, whoever you are," said Mera. 

"You are...welcome," the head rumbled. "I was...asked to...lend aid." 

Aquagirl floated near Natalia Perkins. "This thing isn't from your Earth, is it, Nat?" 

"No way," Natalia responded. 

Then Aquaman snapped his fingers. "Wait a minute. Now I remember. Of course! We monitored a battle you had with the Floronic Man. I saw it with the Justice League. Batman's worked with you. You're the one they call the Swamp Thing." 

"Indeed," the plant elemental said. "I have...aided the Green...above the waters...many times. This is...my first time...below." 

"So...who told you about our little problem, Mr. ...Thing?" asked Lori. "Was it Superman?" 

"Him? Nah, it was me." 

Aquaman turned his head abruptly and in shock. The voice had come from Old Aquaman, who was grinning. Aquaman II quickly stroked to his father's side. "Dad, are you all right?" 

Old Aquaman said, "This isn't your dad, fishface. I rode Swampy down here. I'm the one who pointed the way, and it was one hell of a ride down. This guy over here, we've met before, but he doesn't remember it." He pointed his thumb at Arthur. 

Aquaman took his otherworld counterpart's arm as gently as possible. "Uh, Art, look...I'm sure the battle was a bit taxing. Why don't I get you to shelter and let you take a break, rest up a bit? I'm sure you'll feel fine afterward." 

Old Aquaman's expression changed to one of bewilderment. "Eh? What's this? Why're you holding my arm, sonny? What'd I do when I blanked out?" 

"Blanked out?" Aquaman was even more bewildered. "Are we under attack?" 

The next voice to answer came from Aquaman II. "No such luck," said the hero. "I was in him, now I'm here. I've been in you a couple of times. Maybe Batman or Supes told you about me? I've worked with Swamp Stuff here, too. Sorry about confusin' you. I'm a ghost. Boston Brand. Known in the trade as Deadman." 

Aquaman and all the rest looked at him for a long moment. 

"I'm on your side, too," Deadman reassured him. 

"Okay," said Aquaman. 

-S- 

Zatanna was mortified. There she was, imprisoned in a cell within Darkseid's huge headquarters building. Her mouth was covered by a metallic clamp that reached all the way around her head and held her jaw immobile. Thus, no chance of speaking a backwards spell. She'd banged the thing against the wall of her cell enough times to make her teeth rattle and her face hurt, but hadn't so much as dented it. For feeding times, a jailer shoved a sticky patch through a slot in the door. He'd told her to apply it to her bare flesh, and said she'd absorb nutrients from it that way. It didn't feel much like eating a meal, but at least she wasn't hungry. 

She had no idea how the others were kept, but had a feeling a few of them were in suspended animation. God only knew what was being done to Big Barda. She was a traitor to Apokolips, and Darkseid wasn't known for being merciful to traitors. 

So why was she allowed her freedom? Because the others could activate their powers simply by willing it, or by exerting their own super-strength? Probably. 

Zatanna heard a noise outside. The sound of great, clumping feet. Well, on this world, there were enough stumblebums that moved around like Mack trucks on legs. Until that one spoke, there would be no way of identifying him. 

The guard on duty was the first to speak. "Greetings," he said. "In the name of Lord Darkseid." 

"Greetings," said the other, not giving anything away. The voice was harsh, loud, alien. She had not heard it before. Instinctively, Zatanna backed against the wall. She felt for her Justice League signal device in her belt, but found it had been taken away. 

"Your business, sire?" said the guard, evenly. 

"I wish access to the prisoner," the loud voice said. 

Not good. 

"I'll need a signed order on that one," the guard replied. 

There was a smash and a horrible squishing sound. 

"I'll see you get one," said the loud voice, in apparent sarcasm. 

Zatanna turned and smashed her jaw-prison as hard as she could against the wall. It did nothing except make her face ache. 

The metal door with the slit in it was being pushed inward from the center as if it were a bubble. Then it gave way, and the being who stood in the doorway could barely fit through the frame. 

Mongul. 

Zatanna scurried to another corner of the room, took a fighting stance, looked about for something she could use as a weapon, and knew nothing would be of the least bit of use to her. 

He was smiling in a businesslike fashion. One of his hands was red and dripping. 

"I'll have to get retroactive permission for what I'm about to do," remarked Mordru. "But I don't think they'll deny me." He stepped forward, and Zatanna dived for the floor, trying to duck and run for the door. Mongul grabbed her by the cape and hauled her up. She gave him a karate chop that would have laid out a Mafia hitman. It only hurt her hand. 

"You're the first," said Mongul. "The others will be more problematic. But I'll find a way." 

For a long second all the world was his reddened eyes. 

Then, impossibly, almost before she heard the running footsteps, there was a figure between them, shoving against Mongul and herself, separating them with a force that ripped the cape from her shoulders. For which she was glad, she numbly admitted. 

"No farther, Mongul," said Pariah, a look of defiance on his face. 

Silence for no more than an instant. Then Mongul roared, his brain filled with lust for blood and something else afterward, and, forgetting all he knew of the man before him, he raised his reddened hand and struck with a force that would stagger Superman. 

His hand rebounded from a field no more than five inches away from Pariah's body with a force that fractured the bones in his hand. Mongul cried out. 

He had forgotten: any blow struck against Pariah rebounds in force against the striker. 

Actually, he forgot most everything except the unaccustomed feel of pain. 

In a moment, Pariah had Zatanna out of the cell with him and was running as fast as he could down the hall with her in tow. She added her own speed to their flight. If only her mouth were freed, escape would be a few words away. 

As it was, Mongul was a being of no mean speed himself. Pariah didn't look like he had anything on him with which to open her jaw clamp. She glanced behind them once, briefly, and wished she hadn't when she saw what was left of the guard. She also saw the figure of Desaad, cowering against a wall. 

In a short time, Mongul would overcome the pain of his injured hand and come after them. Pariah would be able to withstand any assault directed against him. She wouldn't. 

"Do you know where the others are?" he asked, on the run. 

She shook her head "no". 

"Then we must find them. Quickly," he said.   
She nodded her head emphatically, and kept running. 

-S- 

Big Barda was confined on a rack which chained her limbs. There was an apparatus for feeding her and one for collecting what resulted from feeding and drinking. She wrenched at the metal, tore at it, sought to bend it to her will and strength, and knew before she started that Darkseid had correctly gauged her limits. 

That didn't stop her from swearing most satisfyingly at the jailers when they came to feed her, and smiling arrogantly at them when they cuffed her for it. 

"Once Darkseid is dead, don't think we'll forget who served him," Barda assured the feeder. He smacked her roughly on the right ear. "I have a great memory for faces." Her cheek was the next target. She sneered, feeling the nutrient patch on her neck do its work. 

"None will have a memory for your face once we are done with you," said the guard, and drew back for another punch. 

"That will be enough!" 

The voice, though aged, held the absolute note of command. Moreover, it lit fear in the guard's eyes. His fist trembled for a second, then unclenched as his arm came to his side. He stood and faced the one who had spoken. 

"Mistress Goodness," he said, humbly. 

"Granny will do," said the bulky, white-haired woman, stepping further inside the cell. "Just dear, sweet Granny. Now. On your knees, you wretch!" 

The guard obeyed. He did not look up. 

"You were touching too closely on the responsibilities of Granny," she reminded him, smiling without mercy. "This one is my special love. She was the one who disobeyed Granny. She broke away from Granny, and even caused her a bit of discomfort in times past. Now, that properly makes her Granny's pet, not yours. Wouldn't you agree?" 

"I, I most assuredly would, Mistress–" 

"Granny!" 

"Granny. I certainly would, Granny." 

Big Barda looked at her former superior. "If you do punish him, Granny, would you let me watch?" She grinned. 

Granny didn't, pointing a baton imperiously at her ex-charge. "That will be enough! This is a private matter." 

"If you say so," said Barda, with a verbal shrug. 

"Now, then," said Granny to the kneeling guard. "Granny would properly supervise your discipline herself, if she had the time. Instead, I want you to go straight to Terrific Trano and tell him that you misbehaved, and that I said so. Will you do that?" 

"I, I will, Mis...Granny." 

She lifted his head with the end of her baton, and smiled. "My, you're such a good boy. Tell him that only 47 strokes will do. Not 46, not 48, but only 47. Will you do that?" 

"Ab, absolutely," he said. 

"Dismissed!" 

The guard rose and quickly left the room. 

Granny drew nearer to Barda. The tall woman in the rack refused to flinch, but her smile was gone. In its place was a look of Spartan endurance. She would need it. 

"You've been such a bad girl, Barda," cooed Granny Goodness. "Such a very, very bad girl." 

She flicked a switch on the end of her baton. A section near the top, no more than an inch in length, began to glow. It brightened into redness, then whiteness. A sizzle of acrid air came from about its tip. 

Barda strove to keep her breathing normal. Her jaws were locked. In her mind, she recited the mantra taught to her in her war-training at the age of four: There is no pain, there is no pain, there is no pain, only illusion. There is no pain... 

"But we can burn that badness away from you, oh yes we can," said Granny, gently, pulling a zipper down the front of Barda's uniform. The skin was bared to her and, despite herself, Barda shrank from the touch of her old superior's fingernail. It traced a path from breastbone to navel. 

"Let's just see what we can do," whispered Granny, and began to lower the baton. 

Then there was a THWAK of impact as something oval and flat hit Granny in the back of the neck, giving her a look of incredible surprise for a second, then making her eyes roll up in her head. Granny Goodness flopped over Barda's body, her baton dropping from her hand, striking the floor, and burning the places where it struck. Even under Granny's bulk, Barda could see whose hand was catching the flying disc on the rebound. 

"Scott!" 

Mr. Miracle smiled, grimly. He moved to grab Granny under the armpits and ease her to the floor. "We haven't got much time," he confided. "I wasted a lot getting my gimmicks back. And we have to free the other women." 

"Well, do me first!" 

"With pleasure." From a hidden pocket of his yellow-and-red suit, Scott Free produced a lockpick and went to work on the fastenings of Barda's bonds. Within ten seconds, he had her loose. She stood, sighed, zipped herself up, and embraced him. "I know we haven't got time for this," she said. "But don't stop me." 

"I don't think I've got the strength to, dear," said Mr. Miracle. "But let's get a move on." 

"I think the others are this way," said Barda, nodding her head to the right. The two of them rushed outside. The guard who had punched her, and several others, were lying in the hall outside in dreamland. They hustled down the corridor. 

"How did you get free?" she asked, in a whisper. 

"A good magician never reveals his secrets," Scott said, sotto voce. 

"Come on!" 

"They scanned me for just about everything," said Scott. "But some of my hairs are only partly natural. Hollowed-out. Explosives, corrosives, sleep-gas, made from natural compounds. Once I fought off the sleep drugs, once I got my hands free, no big deal." 

"Hooray for Apokolips technology." 

"Think of what it would do for my rep if I couldn't get free." 

Just before they turned a corner, Barda said, "Think of what I'm going to do to the couple of stiffs on duty by the next cells." 

Then she leaped out into view. The three guards on duty had seen a lot in their time. But the sight of a very tall, very powerful, very pissed-off Barda was enough to paralyze them, for a moment. 

They never got near their communicators. And their weapons didn't do them a bit of good. 

-S- 

"So where in Sheol did they go?" asked Dev. "Can't we track them using that out-of-time trick we used to find this place, El?" 

Superman shook his head, his arms folded. "Don't think so, Dev. Even Highfather's Alpha Bullets couldn't find them, and they can track targets even into different time eras. Harbinger's taken them someplace we can't locate, right now. Probably to another universe." 

"Bloody Sheol!" Dev snapped grabbing Kal by the shoulder. "That's the woman I love, El. That's the woman who loves me, I think. We've got powers that make the mythical gods of Krypton and Terra look like also-rans. We can see across a galaxy, track an electron, see through the walls of a women's loo!" 

"Dev." 

"I will not lose her, El!" 

Superman gently removed Dev's hand and put one of his own on Dev's shoulder, and gave him a serious look. "Dev. She also happens to be my cousin. My blood-kin. The woman I've known for fifteen years, and love more than anyone this side of Lois. The girl I saw pop up out of a rocket outside of Metropolis in a suit that looked like my own, and flying. The first Kryptonian who came to live with me on the face of the Earth. If you think I intend to lose her–" He put his face a very few inches away from Dev's. "–you are one sadly mistaken son of a babootch." 

Dev exhaled. "Point taken, El. I'm sorry." 

Kal clapped Dev on the upper arm. "Let's go talk to the others. We have places to go." 

The two of them had been in D'reema's garden. Mark Moonrider was huddling with Highfather inside her house. Big Bear, Serifan, Vykin, and the Magic Squad were trying to help with cleanup operations, but there was only so much they could do. The Adonites were gathering and tending to their dead. They had lost their Eden. 

And even though Darkseid had been the serpent in the garden, Superman knew who had shown him the way. 

He knocked on the door, loudly. Moonrider opened it. "You may as well come in," he said. The young New Genesite looked as though he'd missed four meals and two nights of sleep. 

"We're ruddy well going to," said Dev. 

Izaya was standing in the living room, which was filled with interior plants that D'reema had tended. He leaned on his staff. "We must take the battle to Darkseid," he said. "He is my foe, more even than Orion's." 

"With all due respect, sir, Darkseid has probably prepared for such a thing," said Superman. "If you make a frontal assault, he probably has contingencies for your capture." 

"My powers are sufficient to grapple with his," said Izaya, tiredly. "I fear to leave my homeworld undefended. But if I can hurry war's end by a single day, it will be worth it." 

"We're not talking slacker business, Father," said Dev. "What we're talking is espionage. Subterfuge. Sabotage, maybe. Hidden strikes, definitely. Are you game?" 

Izaya looked at him, curiously. "You wish me to act the part of a spy?" 

"Why not? Kal and I are going to. I've got the experience, and he's a quick study. You're invited, if you know how to keep your cover i.d. straight." 

"If we can cut off the head–and save Orion in the process–the rest of the snake may die," said Superman. "I've been to Apokolips before, but it's mostly foreign territory to us. You know the planet more than we do." 

"I do," admitted Highfather. "But Darkseid has eyes everywhere. For me to step in the wolf's lair is a great risk indeed...speaking not for myself, but for New Genesis." 

"I can go with them, Izaya," said Mark Moonrider. "I'd be proud to." 

Izaya smiled at his worldsman. "You could not deal with Darkseid. You must also locate D'reema. Take the others with you, and find her. Before our enemy can. This is your charge, Moonrider." 

After a moment, Moonrider said, "Then I accept it, Highfather." He bowed, and left. 

Izaya looked at the two Kryptonians. "I have two of my blood to rescue, and more." 

"And I've got a woman that I'm gonna find, if I have to hit every Earth in the whole set to do it," said Dev. "Let's see about some disguises." 

-S- 

Jerome Kent wasn't sure what the hell to do, whether to call the cops or simply let the three newcomers cool their heels on his porch until they left. True, they were women, admittedly very pretty women. But, even in their small New England town, it wasn't a great idea to let strangers inside your house without making sure of their intentions, first. 

"We'd just like to see Clark," said the brown-haired girl. "Is he in?" 

"Well, I'd like to know who you are and what you're doing here first," said Jerome. "What business do you have with my son?" 

"We are from another–" Dreema began. 

"–another town," said Lyla, cutting her off. "My name is Lyla, sir. We've already told you that. And this is Drina." 

"My name is Linda Lee Danvers," said the brown-haired girl. "Would you just tell him that, Mr. Kent? That's all you have to do. We'll wait." 

"Tell me what you want with my son," said Jerome. 

"We just want to talk with him," said Linda. "I know it's hard to trust three strangers, Mr. Kent. But I think Clark and I may be related. On my father's side." 

Jerome Kent sighed. "And that's all you've come here for?" 

"Well, that and to talk to him." 

Kent shook his head. "Wait here." He closed the door. 

D'reema sighed. "Did we do the wrong thing, Kara? Have we made them too suspicious?" 

"We'll know in a few seconds," said Linda. "And remember: my name is Linda." 

Lyla looked at the decently-trimmed lawn, the garage, the stack of firewood piled against it, and the open field behind the house, and thought wistfully of a world she'd lost long ago, when she'd taken a trip by sea. 

The door opened. 

Kara caught her breath. 

A young man stood in the doorway, black-haired, blue-eyed, wearing a red sweatshirt, blue jeans, and Adidas running shoes. His face was almost a perfect duplicate for that of the youth she knew from her days with the Legion of Super-Heroes, before he matured into the man who had met her when she emerged from a rocket on Earth. 

He looked at her with suspicion and curiosity, and his father was right behind him, watching. 

"I'm Clark," he said. 

"Hi," said Linda. 

"Are you...Linda?" 

"Let me show you who I am," she said. Taking a comb from her collapsible purse, she ran it several times through her hair, and watched Jerome Kent's eyes grow wider with each stroke. Clark's mouth opened in astonishment. 

When she was finished, her hair was blonde, and styled as it normally was in that state. 

"Now do you recognize me?", she said. "Or do I look enough like they draw me in the books here?" 

"What is this all about, Clark?" said Jerome. 

Clark Kent stepped forward, approached Linda, and touched her shoulder to make certain she was real. 

"We need to talk, Clark," she said. 

"Whoever you are," he said, "this had better be good." 

To be continued...   
  



	18. Part 18:  The New Superboy

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 18: The New Superboy 

by DarkMark 

"Use your X-ray vision on me, Clark. Not all the way, just enough to penetrate the first layer of clothing." 

The 16-year-old obeyed. What else, after all, was there to do? If this was a trap, he'd already walked into it. If this woman was what she claimed to be... 

His eyes saw, below the surface of her blouse, a blue shirt with a familiar red and yellow shield. 

"Holy spit," said Clark Kent, softly, with awe. "This just can't be. I mean, this really, really cannot be." He paused. "You're a Supergirl?" 

"I'm the Supergirl, Clark," said Kara. "The one the comics of your world are based on. We could use your help." 

Both of them were standing behind a tool shed on the Kent family's property. They were within eyeshot of Jerome and Naomi Kent, his foster parents, and of D'reema and Lyla, who were all clustered about the Kents' front porch. Neither one of the Kents really liked it. "What are they talking about?" asked Jerome. 

Lyla said, "Mr. Kent, how did you find Clark, when you adopted him?" 

"You know he's adopted?" asked Naomi, a thirtysomething, strawberry-blonde lawyer in a lounging suit. True, they'd never kept secret the fact that Clark wasn't their natural son, but it was unnerving that these strangers seemed to know that much about him. About them. 

D'reema said, "They know a little about him, but not much. I know even less than they do. In a way, Linda is his relative." 

"In what way?" asked Jerome. "That's what I'd like to know." 

"Linda will have to tell you herself," said Lyla. "Is it all right if I ask how you found Clark?" 

Naomi said, resignedly, "We were out on a nature hike and we found an abandoned baby wrapped up in a white blanket, left in a field. We couldn't believe somebody would just have dumped a baby like that. So we took him in." 

"I see," said Lyla, nodding. 

"You still haven't told us what this is about," said Jerome, in an accusatory tone. "Are you spies? Do you know who his parents are?" 

"We can make an educated guess," said Lyla. "But I believe he should tell you himself." 

"And we are not spies," said D'reema. 

Naomi sat down on the steps. "Dear Lord. Are you going to take him away from us? Are his parents still alive?" 

"If Clark wishes to come with us, he may," said Lyla. "That will be his decision. As to his parents...no. I do not believe they live." 

"Oh," said Naomi. "I'm sorry. Can you...can you tell me about them?" 

"Clark will be the one to do that, if it is done," Lyla replied. 

D'reema stepped up to Naomi, and, tentatively, took her hand and looked her in the eye, with sympathy. "Please do not think ill of us, Mistress Kent. I know how unsettling this may seem to you, but we mean no harm. Neither to Clark, nor you, nor Master Kent. We are, in a sense, refugees. And, like your Clark, I am an orphan. Or half of one. My mother is dead." 

Naomi's eyes softened a little, and she didn't pull back from D'reema. But she said, "That doesn't reassure me a whole lot. For all I know, you could be spies. In fact, that hair-change trick your Linda did almost convinces me of it. How did she do that?" 

"With her comb," said D'reema. 

Naomi rolled her eyes skyward. 

"That's it," said Jerome. "That is it. I'm calling the cops." He turned and started walking into the house. 

"Mr. Kent, wait," said Lyla, starting to follow. "Please." 

"Don't come in my house," said Jerome, almost within reach of the phone in his living room. 

Then there was a hand on his hand, restraining him. "Hold it, Dad," said a voice. 

He looked up, and saw Clark's face. Clark looked very serious. 

"How did you get here so fast?" asked Jerome Kent. "You were out by the shed a moment ago." 

Clark said, "You'd better call Mom in here. We need to have a talk." 

-S- 

Within the next few minutes, the Kents' lives changed. 

They sat, astonished, before Clark and Linda, who had both stripped off their outer clothes and stood revealed in costumes straight out of the comic books. Comic books Jerome had read as a youth. 

It was like finding out that the son you had raised for almost fifteen years had secretly turned out to be James Bond, with an Aston Martin hidden under your garage. 

"This can't be," said Naomi. "It simply cannot be." 

"It can, Mom," said Clark, standing in his Superboy suit. "It is." 

"You...I..." Jerome couldn't find the right words for it. Then he burst out: "Why didn't you tell us? Why didn't you let us know, Clark? Why?" 

Lyla and D'reema, now in their Harbinger and Beautiful Dreamer garb, respectively, sat in chairs in the Kents' den and kept silent, waiting for the Kents to sort things out, if they could. Even Supergirl was silent, respectfully. But she gave the Kent family a look of empathy, and that seemed to register with them. 

"I just didn't know how," said Superboy. "I didn't know if I could. I mean...it's my secret. My secret identity. I'm really Superboy, Dad. I'm the kid you see on the TV news, or on that Time cover." 

Naomi said, "I threw that issue away." 

"It's all right," said Kara. "You can have the one I bought." 

"Linda, please," said Superboy. 

"You've been..." Jerome was trying to fit proper words to the concept. "You've been out there for the last month or two, sneaking off, catching crooks in Boston and New York and...and...everywhere else?" 

"Not everywhere, Dad," said Superboy. "I haven't been all that active. I just help out where I can. I'm not much of a detective, but...well, what would you do if you had these powers, and you saw somebody try to hold up a 7-11, or try a drive-by in the Combat Zone? You can shoot bullets at me, real bullets, and they just bounce off. Like in the comic books. Like George Reeves, or Christopher Reeve in the shows." 

"Dear God," said Naomi, and began to cry. 

Superboy and Jerome went over to her, as did Kara, but Clark motioned her back. "It'll be all right, Omie,"said Jerome. "He won't do it again." 

"Mom, look, I'm really all right," protested Superboy. "There's nothing I've seen that can hurt me, so far." 

Naomi sobbed into her hands. "My son," she said. "My son is a freak." 

A look of deepest sadness came into Kara's face, and both D'reema and Lyla saw it. Then she spoke up. "Mrs. Kent," she said, firmly. "Your son is anything but a freak." 

Naomi Kent looked up at Supergirl with tear-filled eyes. "Shut up! He's not your son! You don't know what he is!" 

The girl from Argo City moved closer. "That's where you're wrong, Mrs. Kent. I know exactly what he is. Because I know what I am, and what the Clark on my world is. To you, it's just something out of a kid's comic book. To us, it's the life we had to live." 

"It's not his life! It's not his!" 

"Naomi, please, calm down," said Jerome, wishing he had never set eyes on the three who didn't exactly come for dinner. 

"Mrs. Kent," said Kara. "Do you know what it's like to have everyone in your hometown, everyone you knew, loved, hated, didn't care about, or even didn't know, everyone except your parents, die?" A beat. "Because I do." 

Naomi Kent was silent. 

"That happened when I was 15," said Supergirl, quietly. "My parents bundled me into an experimental rocket. They sent me to Earth. To a world I knew nothing about. Everybody left behind in Argo City died. All those hundreds of thousands of people. Like all those millions of people on Krypton died, before I was born. I was frightened to death. If I'd stayed, I would have died, too." 

Superboy looked at her with an expression of pity, and even Jerome Kent was silent. Kara went on. 

"I had to cross a large part of the galaxy to get here," she said. "If it hadn't been for the space warp drive in my father's ship, I wouldn't have made it. As it was, the automatic controls kicked out when I was in Earth-orbit space and I had to bring the thing down manually myself. My dad had me spend some time in a simulator, because I thought it was fun. It wasn't fun when I had to do it. 

"He sent me to the place where the only being on Earth who might believe my story lived. I landed near Metropolis. I don't know if that city exists on your world, or Midvale either. I was wearing a suit like this one, because my mother had made it for me. They'd seen Superman operating on Earth by probescope, and she figured that if I went to Earth dressed like him, and showing off the powers that I'd have once I got there, he'd believe me. I had to break out of the rocket on my own, because the door got stuck in the crash. He saw me flying out. He just about had a cow. He told me that he thought I was an illusion, or some trick of his enemies. Then, once I convinced him I was for real, we both found out we were cousins. 

"He told me that there was a whole community of Kryptonians on Earth, and I asked him where. It turned out they were stuck in some tiny bottle in his Fortress. That meant I would have to live among Earth people, and pretend to be an Earth girl. Try doing that, try carrying off that kind of act, when you don't know a thing about Earth, when your parents, as far as you know, have died and left you alone, when all you want to do is curl up in a ball and cry yourself to sleep. Some nights, I did. 

"Sometimes I still don't know how I managed it, but I managed. I kept my secret, and later, after Superman let the world know about me, I kept a secret identity. I lived in an orphanage and I was lucky enough to get adopted by two wonderful people." 

"Fred and Edna Danvers," said Jerome, without thinking. 

"You know about them," said Kara. "Good. My Earth Dad and Mom. At first, they didn't know I was anything but a normal American girl, because I hadn't been revealed to the world as Supergirl. Then I lost my powers, and it didn't look as though Supergirl was an option. I got them back, and I saved Mom and Dad from a car accident. That was when they learned. I had Kal there, Superman, to confirm it. Just like I'm confirming your son's identity to you." 

"So you're essentially saying, Kara, that everything I read in DC Comics, on another world, is true," said Superboy. 

"Within limits, Clark, yes," said Supergirl. 

He shook his head in wonder. "Next thing you know, the Three Little Pigs are gonna walk through the front door." 

"Don't even joke about that," said Jerome. 

Supergirl said, "I've been through a lot since then. High school, college, several jobs. I don't always like what I have to do. Lots of times, I'd just as soon forget about fighting bad guys and just go live with my guy. But it can't always be that way. This is one of the times that it can't." 

"Your guy?" said Superboy. "You mean Dick Malverne?" 

Kara shook her head. "No. Dick came back for awhile and tried to make a go of it with me, but it just didn't work. They put that in the comics, did they?" 

"Not really," Superboy admitted. "He just showed up in the last issue of your book, and it was cancelled before we learned anything." 

"Oh," said Kara, with a rueful smile. "Well." 

"You said, 'This is one of the times that it can't,'" said Jerome. "I heard you say that. What did you mean by that?" 

Lyla and D'reema stole glances at each other. Instinctively, Harbinger crossed her fingers. 

"My world, and worlds linked to it, are under attack," said Supergirl. 

"By whom?" Jerome wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer. 

"I don't know that I should say," Kara began. But before she could get another sentence out, Beautiful Dreamer spoke up. 

"By Darkseid," she said. "By the ruler of Apokolips." 

Naomi looked at her adopted son and her husband. Both of them were open-mouthed. Numbly, she wondered if she should have read more comic books when she was a girl. 

"The one, uh, the one Jack Kirby used to draw?" said Superboy, after a long moment. 

"I don't know Jack Kirby," Kara admitted. 

Jerome moaned. "Oh, no. No way. If you're real, if he's real, we are not getting involved." 

"Jerome," said Naomi. 

"We are not getting involved, Omie," Jerome insisted. "I read about him. If he's anything like the comic books, we are not putting ourselves in that kind of danger. No way. Just forget it." 

"Is he like Lex Luthor?" asked Naomi. 

"Cubed, Mom," Superboy confided. 

"He was the Hitler of super-villains," Jerome confirmed. "Josef Stalin in grey face. Even if my son, even if I can accept that my son has super-powers, is really this Superboy that's turned up on what you call 'our' world...no. I will not have my son risking his life. The answer is no." 

"Dad, I don't know what I want to do, either," admitted Superboy. "But it's my life. Isn't it?" 

"Not till you get to be 18 and graduated, it isn't," said Jerome. 

"Mr. Kent, if I may," said Lyla. "Darkseid has mounted an attack which threatens not only a world, not only a universe, but several universes. Virtually every villain I catalogued with the Monitor seems to be involved. If our worlds fall, no one can guarantee that yours will be safe." 

"Stop it!" yelled Naomi. "You will not take my son from me!" 

Kara held up her hand. "That's all right, Mrs. Kent. That's all right. If you don't want Clark to go with us, he doesn't have to. I will admit, he could be a great help to us in our fight. But that's his decision, and, I suppose, yours." 

"You're blamed well right it is!" said Naomi, defiantly. "My son is not a, a fr...an alien from another planet." 

"Mom," said Clark, with infinite gentleness and a bit of sadness, "I am." 

Silence. 

"The Krypton bit, the comic book thing, it's the only thing that makes sense, even though it doesn't seem to," said Superboy. "I mean, there I was, a kid, and I looked something like the guy from Dad's comics, and I even had a name like his. You know what kinda razzing I took from the kids about that." 

"I know," said Jerome. "You got into more fights about that name. I thought you lived in the principal's office, for a long time." 

"But it didn't really mean anything, at least, I didn't think so, because I could get hurt, and scraped and cut and bruised and all that," Clark went on. "I didn't have super-power one. Then a few months back, I went out to that costume party on the beach. Remember, Mom? I dressed up in this costume." 

Naomi nodded, sadly. 

"I was out there with Laurie. Laurie Lemmon. She was dressed up in that mermaid costume. We were on the beach, just looking up at the stars. I was wondering if I could see Halley's Comet. I mean, I knew it wouldn't come within range till December. But I still...I looked up. Looked as hard as I could. And it was like some kind of relay was thrown in my head, and I was looking out there, farther and farther, able to see...to see stars and planets and meteors, in closeup. I couldn't believe it. I felt like Ray Milland in that old horror movie, about the guy with the eyes. 

"And I saw Halley's Comet. 

"It was like I was close enough to it to touch it. I reached up, like I was going to touch it. I kept reaching, and reaching, and...and I didn't feel anything under my feet anymore. I heard Laurie. She was screaming. 

"Then it was like my vision, my telescope powers, whatever you wanna call them, they just shut off and went back inside my eyes. I looked down, and...and I was floating in the air. About forty feet off the ground! I felt like, I don't know, like one of those cartoon characters that realizes he's just walked off a cliff, and he's trying to scramble back before the air he's walking on runs out, and then whonk! He falls. And I fell. Right on my red tuchis. It didn't hurt. That was the weird thing. One more of the weird things. 

"Laurie was looking at me, and breathing hard with her mouth open, and I thought she was going into hysterics again. So I just hugged her, and tried to get her to calm down. I squeezed her a little too hard, and she just said, 'You're hurting me!' So I eased up a bit. It was like...I don't know, even my strength was going haywire. I was probably more scared than her. But I didn't...I didn't have the luxury of being scared. Not while she was." 

Kara nodded, approvingly. 

"So she said, 'Did that really happen?' And I said, 'I don't know.' She said, 'I don't want to know if that really happened.' I told her I didn't blame her. But that she shouldn't tell anybody what we thought we saw, or what I thought I did. We hadn't been drinking, even, and we thought we saw what we thought we saw. That made it even worse. 

"Laurie said she wouldn't tell, and me, I figured I'd wake up in the morning and it'd be all over like the end of a Tales From the Unexpected, or something. So we went back to the party and tried to forget it. But we couldn't. Everybody was giving us the eye, 'cause of the way we looked. They asked us if we'd found anything out there to scare us, like the weird tides that were acting up back then. We said no. I guess after that they figured we'd been making out, gone all the way or tried to, and it hadn't gone good. We didn't tell 'em anything one way or the other. I hope...I hope she hasn't gotten a reputation because of that. 

"But I...I couldn't forget about it. I mean, I didn't dare to remember, but I didn't know how not to remember. So the next night, I looked out my window, up in the sky, and wham. The same thing happened. I could see Halley's Comet. I could see the asteroid belt. I could see the surface of Jupiter. I could see...I could see more than I ever wanted to. 

"And I found the place in my mind where I could shut it off so that I couldn't see things. 

"A couple of nights after that, I snuck out at night and tried the flight thing again. I flew. I just went up about twenty feet, then I levelled off and flew forward, and I didn't know how to land, and I just kinda pancaked. That's how I got all those grass stains on my shirt, Mom. Remember?" 

"I remember," she said, wanly. 

"After that I wore the costume. I found out about how much I could lift, how fast I could run, how far I could fly. I smashed my hand right through a fencepost, Dad, the one out there on the north forty, and it didn't even hurt. I tried to cut myself with a knife, and I couldn't. There wasn't any way I could escape from it, and don't think I didn't want to. But I couldn't. I was a Superboy." 

Naomi shook her head, and Jerome squeezed her hand. 

"But...it wasn't like in the comic books. I didn't know what I was supposed to do with it. I didn't want to spend half my life fighting bad guys. I didn't even know what bad guys I was supposed to fight. Then, well, you know what happened." 

"I know," said Jerome. 

"Forgive me, Mr. Kent," said Supergirl, "but I don't." 

Jerome Kent took a deep breath, then began. 

"A postal worker in the local p.o., well...went postal. He'd been fired and came back with a gun. Took hostages. Was going to kill them, but he was going to have his say first, so he demanded that his outgoing calls be broadcast on radio. The negotiators just kept him ranting, playing for time, but time was just about to run out. 

"Then we heard something like an explosion, and we thought he had a bomb. But the man's voice came on, and he sounded as confused and terrified as we were. 'Hey, what.' That's what he said. That's all he said. 'Hey, what.' Then it sounded like...well, it sounded like a sound effect in the movies, when somebody gets hit." 

"It did," Clark confirmed. "I hit him." 

"Turned out there was a big hole in the back wall, like somebody had blasted it with a cannon shell," said Jerome. "Or maybe just punched through. But someone else's voice was heard on the telephone, and it sounded like he was trying to disguise his voice. I thought it sounded familiar. Now, I know it was familiar." 

"I'm sorry, Dad," said Clark. 

"The voice said that the cops could get in there now, and the crisis was over. Then it was gone. The witnesses said the man practically flew out the back way, after knocking the postal guy unconscious. None of them could agree on what happened. But all of them agreed on who did it, and nobody believed them when they said it. 

"They said, 'Superman saved us.'" 

"I couldn't just let it happen," said Superboy, sitting down on a chair and toying with his hands. "I just couldn't. I heard it on the radio and I...well, that's all." 

"You did the right thing, Clark," said Kara. "I'm proud of you." 

"Thank you," said Superboy, and she could see he meant it. 

Lyla said, "The primal starting point for heroes on Earths is very often Superman. Or Superboy. I think you'll find yourselves an important part of history from now on, Clark, and Mr. and Mrs. Kent as well." 

"I do not want to be part of history," said Naomi Kent, with a tone she usually reserved for courtrooms. "I want my son to grow up to be a normal human being, not some Saturday morning cartoon character." 

"I'm not a cartoon character, Mom," said Clark. "I'm Superboy!" 

"In Supertown, he would not be unusual at all," said D'reema. "Brother Superman felt as though it was the first place he could think of himself as an equal." 

Supergirl held up her hand for quiet. "We just need a place to stay for a couple of days, Mr. and Mrs. Kent. Our main objective is making certain D'reema here is safe from Darkseid. But if he isn't stopped, as I said, then Earth-Prime will only be endangered as well. I also don't want her staying here long enough to tip off Darkseid as to this world's existence. If he doesn't already know about it." 

"You'd better hope he doesn't know about it," said Jerome. "But...Omie, what do you think?" 

"I think I want to negate this entire day," she said. "I think I want to forget everything I've just heard in the past two hours." 

"That's not an option, Mom," said Superboy. 

"I know it isn't, Clark! I just wish that it was." 

"We do need a place to stay, sir," said Lyla. "If you'll take us on for a couple of days, we'll be glad to pay whatever you wish. Then we'll leave." 

"You don't...oh, blazes," said Jerome. "Why here? Couldn't you have gotten a hotel or something?" 

"We could," confirmed D'reema. "If you don't wish us here, we will." 

"Actually, we were kind of hoping we could find out if Clark here could give us a hand," admitted Kara. "I didn't know his situation. As it is, it's just important that we made him aware of what we're facing. If the conflict spreads here...it's imperative he know about it." 

Naomi paled. "You mean there might be super-characters on our world? Making crazy wars and..." 

"Hopefully not," said Supergirl. "That's why we're leaving after a couple of days. Also to get back to the battle. This woman, D'reema, is one of the enemy's great objectives. We have to keep her out of his hands. But we also have to do our part." 

Clark gave her a solid look at that last sentence. Jerome didn't like to see it. 

Jerome sighed. "It's up to Naomi. What do you say, dear?" 

Superboy said, "Mom, please. I need to learn so much more about who I am. And Kara, here...if I'm from Krypton...if there ever was a Krypton...she's practically a blood relative." 

Naomi said, "If they come here, what will you do?" 

"We'll fight them off," said Kara. "And we'll get you to safety." 

She paused for a long moment. Then she said, "We'll get the guest room fixed up. One of you will have to take the couch." 

-S- 

It was decided that D'reema would share the guest room with Kara, in case of attack. Neither one of them told the Kents about that part. Before the women retired, Clark, back in his normal clothing, asked to see Kara. They went out on the back steps, sat down, and talked. 

"This has been one incredible day," Clark said, inadequately. 

Kara nodded. "I know, Clark. I'm sorry for what we put your parents through." 

"Yeah," he said. "I was trying to keep it from them. Now, I don't know what's going to happen." 

"You'll have to work something out with them," she said. "But if you were destined to be a Superboy, I honestly don't see how you can shirk your responsibilities. On this planet, I mean." 

"You want me to go with you," he said. "You want me to help you fight a guy out of the comic books." 

"It isn't comic books where I come from, Clark. And what you do is up to you." 

"And my folks." 

"Be glad you have them," said Kara. "Kal doesn't. But your foster parents are a lot younger than his was." 

"Kal is your Superman?" 

"Yes. Your Kryptonian name was probably Kal-El, like his." 

Clark paused. "You're alive. That's the weird bit. You're Supergirl, and you're really alive." 

"You mean, a comic book character came to life?" She smiled. 

He paused again. "Yeah. Yeah, that's exactly what I mean. Did you know about this world, before you came to it?" 

"Oh, yes. I didn't know where we were headed, but after we got here, a few clues tipped me off to it. We called it Earth-Prime." 

"Earth-Prime?" 

"It's a lower number concept than Earth-One," she said, "which is what we call Kal's and my universe. The Flash was the first one to find it. Kal told me about it, after he did." 

"The...Flash?" Clark Kent was astonished. "You mean, there's really a Flash?" 

"Was," said Kara. "He's dead now." 

"Oh. I'm sorry." 

"So are we," said Kara. "There were a few other times our heroes came to your world, or vice versa. Let's see if I can remember..." She thought for a moment. "A writer from your Earth, Cary Bates, came to Earth-Two and got turned into a super-villain for awhile by the Wizard. He fought the Justice Society and the Justice League. Then there was a time when Kal and some of the League wound up here and fought a guy called Ultraa. He's on our world, now. If there were any other incidents like these, I don't know about them." 

"That's weird. Barriers between dimensions, and you walk through them like they were cheesecloth." 

"It's not that easy, Clark. Even with super-powers, it takes some training." 

"Do you think you could teach me?" He looked at her. 

"I could teach you some, and I'd be glad to," she said. "But to vibrate between Earths? That takes a lot of control, and I don't know if I could do it in just a couple of days." 

"But would you teach me something about my powers, Linda? I've got 'em, I know how to use 'em. But I haven't had any training, other than what I do myself." 

"Be glad to," she said. "Just get your parents' permission first." She smiled. 

"Why are you grinning?" he asked. 

"Because that's what Kal had to do for me, when I came to Earth. He did it for the Earth-2 Clark Kent, too, when he got caught in a space-and-time warp. I guess it just runs in the family." 

"I guess." Clark laughed, briefly. "I just cannot believe this. I just can't. You knew what Earth you were on when you saw my picture on a Time cover?" 

"No, not then," said Kara, crossing her legs and holding her knees. "I just knew we were in an Earth in our primary system. When I knew that, I used my super-vision to pick up some clues. I saw that there were comic books with super-heroes in them in your world, and they're not the true-crime sort we have on our Earth. Then I looked at the DC Comics offices here, in New York. There's a man named Julius Schwartz. The one from Earth-Prime has a certain device the Flash built for him. It's still in his office, in storage. Turned out that the thing was still in his office, on this world. That's how I knew where we were." 

"So this all comes down to comic books," said Clark. 

"Maybe in your world," she said. "Clark, I think I know what you're feeling. I felt something like it when I came to my Earth. I just wanted a place to live. But Kal said that I had the powers, and convinced me I had the responsibility to use them. Sometimes I wish I didn't. Sometimes I've even thought of chucking it and going to live on Rokyn." 

"Rokyn?" 

"That's the world in my universe the Kandorians have colonized. You know about the Kandorians?" 

"Uh, yeah. Little people in a bottle, right?" 

"Right. But they're not so little anymore, and they're not in a bottle. But I haven't quit yet. I may, if my man and I ever work things out. Right now, though...I have to admit I'd miss being Supergirl. It's a good feeling, to have these powers, to be able to fly. To be able to help people, when they need it. I'm not that big on fighting bad guys, but I do it when I have to. Right now...I have to. All of us have to." 

"You wanted me to join you." 

"Yes. But that would have been if your parents already knew about you, and approved. It'll take some time before they'll understand, or start to." 

"Is there stuff in your universe that could harm me?" 

She nodded, seriously. 

"I wish I could help," he said. 

She clapped him on the shoulder. "For now, the best thing is for you to learn how to use your powers. Let's get some sleep, then we'll start out bright and early in the morning. That be all right with you?" 

"Sure." He hesitated, then said, "I'm glad you came here, Linda. I'm really glad you exist." He offered his hand. 

Kara smiled and shook it. "Same here. And when it's just the two of us together, you can call me Kara." 

"In that case...well...I guess you can call me Kal." 

"Be glad to. Kal. Now let's get some sleep." She stood up. 

"Okay. Is it okay if I ask who you're dating? On your world?" 

"His name is Dev. Dev-Em. I'm not sure you'd know him." 

"Dev-Em? Like, the guy from the Legion?" 

She shot him a look of astonishment. "You know about the Legion? How could you?" 

"Um. From the comic books." He looked embarrassed. 

"But they won't even exist for a thousand years!" 

Clark Kent stuck his hands in his pockets and looked at her, awkwardly. 

"I guess on this Earth, they've got really good reception." 

She sighed. "Whatever you do, don't tell anyone if they come here from another Earth. If they know about it, they might be able to create a future in which the Legion doesn't exist." 

"I'll keep it secret," he promised. "Honest." 

The two of them went inside, then, and Clark was silent. He knew he could keep the Legion of Super-Heroes a secret, as could his father, if some crazy invaders from another dimension came to his world and didn't notice the comic books. 

All the same, he wondered if he could take one of the comics in his stash and hide it before any of the newcomers saw it. 

It just wouldn't do for them to see the cover of Crisis on Infinite Earths #7. 

-S- 

Lady Quark, freed from her bonds, had seared open Zatanna's jaw-clamp with a laser-thin line of her nuclear power. The Harbinger-self that had been a captive with them was also freed. On the way, they and Pariah had literally run into Mr. Miracle and Barda during a fight with the guards. Now the five of them, freed, quickly pondered their next move there in Darkseid's prison complex. 

"We need to pull out," said Zatanna. "They know we're here, already. Mongul's on our trail. I can get us out with a spell." 

"No," said Miracle. "Orion is still here. Still a captive. Still, probably, tortured." 

Pariah nodded. "If Desaad did to him physically what he did to me, mentally, we have to get him out." 

Barda said, "That's noble thinking. But I stand with Zatanna on this. We will not benefit Orion by getting recaptured. If we leave, we may return with greater forces." 

Lady Quark's hands glowed with atomic power. "Now that we are prepared, I say we stand and fight. I will not see another world fall." 

"This world fell a long time ago," replied Scott Free, and that was all he could get out before the stone wall behind them smashed asunder, covering them in dust. 

Beyond the newly-made opening, they saw two hulking figures. Mongul and Kalibak. Both were grinning. 

Immediately, Lady Quark unleashed an atomic bolt at Mongul's chest. It spattered off like water from a hose. Zatanna said, "Tropelet ruo seof yawa," and a spell burst forth from her fingers to do just that. 

It petered out a few inches before it reached their two enemies. Pariah was first to see the new arrival, and knew he was responsible. He had not been there an instant before. Pariah would have sworn to that. 

Darkseid, his hand still glowing with power, said, "That will suffice. Mongul, Kalibak, I would have Barda and Free alive. For the rest...take your exercise." 

The two of them moved forward. 

To be continued...   
  



	19. Part 19:  Glorious Godfrey's Revival

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 19 

by DarkMark 

The sad part about things as they stood was that there were some planets Darkseid didn't have to conquer. They threw in with him willingly. 

One of them was Thanagar. 

Thanagar was the homeworld of the Hawkman and Hawkwoman of Earth-1. That world had not known crime for thousands of years before the incident of the Manhawks, in which Paran Katar and his son, Katar Hol, donned wings and anti-gravity belts of Paran's design and used them to defeat thieving, intelligent birds with human masks equipped with weapons. 

It knew crime afterward, and Katar Hol became one of the first and greatest of the Wingmen, Thanagar's winged, flying, hawk-masked police force. On an early case, he teamed with rookie policewoman Shayera Thal against the Rainbow Raiders. They fell in love and were married. 

Then a shape-changing villain, Byth Kol, went from Thanagar to a distant planet, Earth. Katar and Shayera Hol followed him there, were given cover identities as Carter and Shiera Hall by their contact, Midway City police commissioner Emmett, and became curators of the city museum. In their Thanagarian identities, they battled and defeated Byth. In that conflict, they became known to the people of Earth as Hawkman and Hawkgirl. 

For awhile they migrated between Earth and Thanagar before deciding finally to make Earth their home, learning from the humans and employing their ancient weapons in fights against criminals of that world. They made friends and allies, such as the Atom and Adam Strange. Eventually they were proposed for membership in the Justice League, and first Hawkman was accepted, then, years later, Hawkgirl was as well. Between those times, they were finally called back to Thanagar. 

But things had not gone well in Thanagar. 

An alien being whose only designation was "the Equalizer" had come there, with a mission to make all sentient beings equal to one another. This, he hoped, would lead to greater harmony among peoples. All the microbes which he unleashed was turn Thanagar into a menagerie of same-people, differentiated only by sex. All equally intelligent, all equally strong, all equally brave, all equally cowardly. 

All equally mediocre, and stagnant. 

The proud culture of Thanagar was brought low in a day, because there was none capable of preserving it. Hawkgirl, having come there first, was fully affected by the disease. Hawkman, who came later, managed to fight it off long enough to leave the planet and bring the Justice League to his rescue. The League found a way to fight off the Equalizer, who disappeared in a blast. Hawkman was cured, but his people and his wife were not. 

Shortly thereafter, a race of amorphous beings called the Adaptoids attacked Earth, and Hawkman found a way of defeating them: by bringing Hawkgirl there from Thanagar, having her Equalizer-germs infect and weaken them, and subsequently curing her as well. The Hawks hoped to find a cure for their people, but never did. 

Thus, the two of them remained on Earth, and with the League. 

Then something else happened: 

A gold-skinned, alien queen came to Thanagar. Her name was Hyanthis and she had been opposed, in times past, by rivals from other worlds and by the Justice League itself. She cured the Thanagarians of their Equality. In return, she demanded rulership over them, which she got. Thanagarians had, unfortunately, a trait of following authority, which she provided. One of her old rivals, Kanjar Ro, made a power grab on the world of Rann, whose hero was Earthman Adam Strange. The two planets made war on each other, and Hawkman, Hawkgirl, and Adam Strange found themselves in the midst of it. 

Kanjar Ro was defeated, but Hyanthis remained in power on Thanagar. Hawkman and Hawkgirl were exiled to Earth, which fate they accepted. No matter how many times they tried to go home, they had to admit their real homeworld was the one revolving around Sol. 

In another incident, Hawkgirl was forced to take them both back to Thanagar to cure Hawkman of a poison that would have killed him. This eventually led to battle with Hyanthis and her deposement, with the help of Superman and Batman. The Thanagarians offered Hawkman the rulership of the planet. He declined, and, once again, returned to Earth. 

Shayera left him, and he had to track her across the cosmos. When they were finally reconciled, she informed him that she would be known as Hawkwoman, and so she was. 

Then both of them learned of the final phase in Thanagar's degeneration. The world's authoritarian strain had been intensified by Hyanthis. The Thanagarians took to the discipline and regimentation, and, like many another people, were convinced to put a tyrant of their own on the throne and spread their lifestyle to other worlds, by controlling them. 

To do that, they decided they needed control of the weapons and tools whose science was lost to them in the Equalizer plague. Their minds were recovering, but technological innovation was still somewhat beyond them. To gain them, they had to take them from the only people who still had them: Katar and Shayera Hol. 

To that end, the Thanagarians sent secret agents to Earth and waged what was termed a "shadow war" against Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and against the human race itself. The Hawks fought them off, but had to keep their war a secret from their friends as well, lest the Thanagarian agents capture Justice League technology as well. 

That was skewed by the Crisis. Thrown into comradeship with their old friends and the other heroes of Earth, Hawkman and Hawkgirl were readmitted to the League, and revealed the secret of the Thanagarian shadow agents. The heroes were grateful, and promised to be on guard against the enemy. 

But it didn't stop Darkseid from making them an offer they didn't even try to refuse. 

In exchange for an authority so powerful they practically lusted after it, and weapons and science with which to make war, the men of Hawkman's world accepted his governorship. 

Now Hawkman, Hawkwoman, their Earth-Two counterparts Hawkman and Hawkgirl, and Adam Strange and his wife Alanna fought Thanagarian guards with ray-weapons and their own good right arms, trying to survive, leading a band of rebels in an attempt to breach the security of the capital building. 

"It's a miracle we've gotten this far," said Hawkwoman, aiming and bringing down another guard with a stun-ray. 

"Not a miracle," said Adam. "A lot of communication-jamming Sardath and I arranged, a lot of help from the underground, plus a lot of luck." He blasted at a vehicle behind which Thanagarian soldiers were hiding and popping off blasts at them. The vehicle blew up. The Thanagarians, who wore body armor, were knocked unconscious. 

Hawkgirl of Earth-2 blanched. She was not used to this sort of fighting, hadn't seen this sort of action since World War II. She and her Hawkman weren't aliens, just reincarnations of Egyptians. Even though they agreed to help out, she wondered if they hadn't made the decision too rashly. Hawkman of Earth-2 saw her consternation and squeezed her arm, meaningfully. 

"Does Kanjar Ro still have that gamma-metal gong of his?" said Alanna. 

"If he does, the Absorbascon hasn't told me," said Katar Hol. The night before, he had used the Absorbascon, a Thanagarian computer-device, to absorb data about his homeworld which had come about since his leaving. Darkseid had placed a coalition of Adam's and Hawkman's enemies in power: Kanjar Ro, Sayyarr, Mosteel, Hyathis, and Kaskor. They were rivals, but under the master of Apokolips, at least they managed to work together. 

They would be prepared for Hawkman and his band. 

"Then let's go for it anyway," said Shayera, and touched a stud on her belt. The others responded in similar fashion. The building would be protected by a force-field, but their belts would radiate a counterfield that would interfere with it and allow them to penetrate it. 

All summarily took to the air, the Hawks propelled by wings and anti-gravity belts, Adam and Alanna shot forth by their jet-packs. They made it through the force-field barrier, dodged blasts from sentry devices on the building, trained weapons of their own on its windows, and blasted their way inside from four different directions. Each of them had studied diagrams of the building and knew what floor their enemies probably occupied. Adam and Alanna broke into a floor below the council chamber, the Hawkmen and Hawkgirls breached the floor it was on. 

They were met by the usual guards, and battle ensued. After a cursory skirmish, the heroes were victorious. 

Adam and Alanna fought their way upstairs to rezendevous with the Hawkpeople. "Any luck?" asked Adam. 

"We haven't gotten to the chamber," Hawkman responded. 

"Let's not disappoint them," said Hawkgirl, and began running for the doors of Thanagar's high council room. Her borrowed blaster was at the ready, and she loosened a burst at it. It blew the doors off their tracks, and knocked guards behind it on their kiesters. 

When the haze and crackle cleared, she and the others saw a single figure standing before them, his clothes somewhat in tatters from the blast, but his metalloid flesh unharmed. He was smiling. Several others were visible behind him. 

"Glad you could make it," said Mosteel, and stepped forward, swinging his iron-hard fists. 

Behind him, Hyathis, bearing a blaster of her own, advanced, saying, "Save some for me. I want Hawkwoman's blood." 

Kanjar Ro, backed by the lizardlike Sayyar and the Rannian Kaskor, grinned. "We'll all have our chance to spill some, my dear. Quite a bit, in fact." 

"In the name of Darkseid!" cried Sayyar, who knew which side his bread was buttered on. 

"Yes, in the name of Darkseid," agreed Kaskor, cynically, and sent a blast at Adam Strange. 

-S- 

Mongul made a grab for Zatanna and got her by the arm. Immediately she said, "Lugnom asaeler em!" The magic forces the sorcerous beauty commanded shook the alien conqueror's grip. But his power even topped that of Superman. With an effort that sent beads of sweat popping from his pale yellow brow, he held on. 

At least, he did until Lady Quark blasted him in both eyes with a full-power nuclear burst. The giant cried out in pain, fell back, and loosened his grip enough for Zatanna to pull free with magic and muscle. Pariah grabbed her and pulled her back to relative safety. 

The problem was, when facing Mongul and Kalibak, there was no safety zone. Even if Darkseid wasn't personally supervising their efforts. 

Harbinger tried exerting her teleportational power and, instead, barely managed to dodge a full blow from Kalibak's war club. It hit her a glancing blow in the side, bruised her badly, and knocked her sprawling into the wall. She grabbed her side in pain. 

Barda and Mr. Miracle tackled Kalibak together and were smashed back by a swipe of his powerful arm. They were used to taking falls in their escape business and bounced like dice off a gaming table, but still felt the impact of his blow. Only Orion or somebody above his level could match muscle with Kalibak, Scott knew, and even Barda's power was below that. 

Desperately, he tossed a flying disc at Darkseid, skimming it just past Kalibak's ear. It was thrown with a velocity that would have sent it through a human head, if such had been its target. 

Darkseid calmly put up his hand and caught it neatly between his thumb and fingers. 

"I expected better from you, Scott," he said. "As a graduate of Granny's school, one could only hope for something less...disappointing." 

"Shove it," Scott responded. 

"An intriguing notion," said Mongul, moving forward with menace. "Let me get hold of your wife's baton, and we'll see about implementing it." 

Zatanna looked at Harbinger, grabbed her arm, and hoped the woman would knew what she was about to do. 

"Ekat em dna ym seilla ot eht s'rotinoM etilletas!" she cried, as quickly as she could form the words. She had a feeling Darkseid was using his power as a damping field of sorts, as the magic flow seemed to be lessened in her body. But thankfully, Harbinger was sharp enough to join her powers with Zatanna's. 

The teleportational skills the Monitor endowed Lyla with joined with Zatanna's magic, and the host of heroes, Pariah, Mr. Miracle, Big Barda, Lady Quark, Zatanna, and Harbinger, all were enveloped in a flash of white light that lasted long enough to blind Kalibak and Mongul for a moment. Darkseid showed no response to it. 

When the two minions could see again, their foes were gone. 

Mongul stepped over to the spot where most of them had stood, bent over, tore up two blocks from the floor, and crushed them to dust in silent fury. It was a coping mechanism, and for him it worked. 

"Damn them!" raged Kalibak. "Damn them to the lowest hells of Hell itself! Damn them for slipping through our fingers like water, like mercury! Damn them for not staying long enough for me to smash their heads and–" 

"Kalibak, my son, silence," said Darkseid. 

"But, father, I–" 

He looked behind him and saw Darkseid's eyes glowing red. Kalibak subsided. 

The monarch of Apokolips walked over to a place just behind Kalibak's right, and stopped. "Do you think that I had somehow lost control of the situation?" 

"I–" 

Darkseid's hand descended to Kalibak's shoulder and squeezed, gently. The bestial Apokolyptic cried out in pain and went to his knees. Darkseid didn't loosen his grip. 

"Do you think that I could not have destroyed them all with the merest touch of my Omega Effect, had I wished to? We have lost nothing. They are gone. They will think many times before coming back, and may never do so at all. I still have Orion. Beautiful Dreamer is almost within my grasp. Those two things are all that we are concerned with. Agreed?" 

"Ah, ah." Kalibak's face was beginning to turn blue. Even Mongul began to be concerned. 

"Agreed, Kalibak?" 

"Y–y–yes, fa–father–r, YES!" 

After another long second, Darkseid let his son go. Kalibak flopped face-down on the floor and sucked in great gasps of air. 

The grey-faced being turned away and began walking to the door, and then down the hall. He spared neither Kalibak nor Mongul a backwards glance. He would, of course, have to have Desaad checked on. If the fool had suffered substantial damage, that would mean Darkseid himself would have to take on the interrogation of Orion. If that happened, there might not be enough mind left afterwards to enslave. 

One thing Darkseid knew for certain. 

The way both his sons had turned out, he couldn't afford to die anytime soon. Even Apokolips deserved better than that. 

-S- 

Glorious Godfrey was in fine form. 

"There is only one thing a man can depend upon in these troubled times," he said, one finger held aloft before the crowd. "Only one thing a man can rely on, in the face of these free-willing apostates on Earth and those Source-huggin' liberals over there in Dark-forgive-me I should even utter the name of the place–" 

"New Genesis!" cried out one in the audience, with his hands cupped about his mouth. 

"Thank you," Godfrey grinned. "Praise Darkseid. Thank you, brother, that's exactly what I mean. And the one thing all of us, any of us can rely on is this: faith in Darkseid, and complete and utter subservience to his will. Now, some of you, some of you out there will say, 'But Godfrey, all will be subject to his will in the day of Anti-Life.' Well, that's so, brothers and sisters, that's very much so. But listen to what I've got to say, now. When the day of Anti-Life comes, Darkseid is gonna look down upon his legions, and he is going to know, brothers, he is going to know who was completely loyal to him from the beginning, and he is going to know those who were only loyal after Anti-Life. And it's true! Yes, it's true! I say it to you three times, so you know it, brethren, it is TRUE!" 

One hard-bitten veteran of several anti-New Genesis campaigns lurched off his bench, hustled to the aisle, and fell down upon his face, weeping. "Darkseid knows I'm loyal! Darkseid knows I'm loyal, Brother Godfrey! He knows it!" 

"He knows it, brother," said Godfrey, standing like a pillar of rectitude in his white robe with the red trim and pointing down with gentleness at the soldier who sprawled on the carpet with his face buried in it and his backside up in the air. "He knows your loyalty, and I know it, also. Praise the Darkness, we know it. Somebody say, 'Hail, Darkseid!'" 

"HAIL, DARKSEID!" 

Godfrey looked offended. "Is that any way to show your loyalty to the Great One? I mean, do you really call that a response to the one who's worked so hard to make Apokolips everything it is today? Get off your rear ends, brothers and sisters, and let me hear it! 'Hail, Darkseid!'" 

"HAAAAILLLL, DARKSEIIIIIIID!!" 

"Well, that's better," Godfrey grinned. "Now, somebody, three or four of you, pick up the brother and set him back in his seat. 'Cause people are gonna have to come down that isle in a little bit, when I run out of steam–as if!–and I don't want them to have to step in a bigger wet spot than he's already made. Bless you, brother. And bless all of you. 

"Now, I've got news from the front." The congregation started going, "Yeah. Yeah!" Godfrey waved his hand to calm them a bit, but only a bit. He knew how to play them. "I want you to know that Brother Mantis has established a Zone of Occupation on that little tiny Earth in our own universe, and where was their mighty Superman when he did it? Why, he decided–" And at this, Godfrey looked quite astonished. "–He decided to take a vacation. Where? I can't imagine. I just think that he saw Brother Mantis and the fightin' brethren of Apokolips and he looked at them, and he said to himself, he said–-'Maybe it's time I let this old Earth fend for itself awhile.'" 

Godfrey turned a 2000-watt grin on the crowd, and they hooted, hollered, laughed, stomped, waved signs with various anti-Highfather, anti-New Genesis, and even anti-Superman slogans on them, and chanted "Hail Darkseid!" for a few minutes. Finally, Godfrey motioned for silence again. 

"Well, we know what we're gonna do with Superman once he gets back," said Godfrey. "But it may have to wait till we do, excuse me, till the Great One does what he's going to do with Highfather." He chuckled. "That name always cracks me up. I can imagine one of his sons, one of the brighter ones, going by and saying, 'Duh, hi, father!' And he thinks to himself, 'Hm, not a bad idea for a name.'" A little polite laughter. 

"And of course, it's been brought to my attention that Superman's got himself a relative," Godfrey noted. "One of the female persuasion." A short "woooooo" went up from the men in the crowd. "I'm not sure, but I think they call her 'Supercurl' or 'Supergirl' or 'Superslug' or something. And I'm sure that the Great One will find something to do with her, as well." 

There was a chortle of knowing laughter. 

"And maybe Kalibak'll find something to do with her, too," added Godfrey. 

"Yeah! YEAH!" came the chorus. 

Godfrey bent low, to confide what he had to say most intimately, and smiled. "And maybe, if you're very very good, and very very loyal, brethren...they might even let some of you watch." 

That notion got the biggest roar of the entire meeting, thus far. 

It took three minutes of "Hail Darkseid!"s before Godfrey could get the crowd calmed down enough for him to do the windup. 

"Dearly beloved, I don't have to remind you that we've got a war on. What Lord Darkseid needs more than anything else now is your loyalties, your minds, your hearts, your spirits, and your bodies. And that's why we've got something for you, dearly beloved. That's why we're going to give each and every one of you who comes up to the podium a token of his appreciation, and a symbol of your loyalty to the cause, and to him. Here's what we're going to give you, brethren." 

He turned, reached behind him into a box, and pulled a gleaming metal object from it, holding it up in both hands high over his head so that all could see it. 

"A Justifier helmet! Yes, brethren, a Justifier helmet! If you wear one of these, you know that all will know, that he will know, that you are completely and totally faithful to the Great One, and to the Dark Cause. Now, my part, at least the speaking part, is done. I want you to form a line right in front of the podium here, and Brother Marno and his lovely assistants and I will pass these out, and I don't want a one of you leaving the building without wearing one. That's right, just come right on out in the aisle, nobody's going to call you anything but loyal. Doctor Bedlam, will you lead us in our song of decision?" 

A blank-featured android standing at attention beside a keyboard gradually gained features until its visage became that of a black-bearded, serious-looking man in brown and blue. Doctor Bedlam's hands went to the keyboard, and he began to play. After a few bars, his baritone voice rang through the hall: 

"I'm like you, you're like me,   
We're all Darkseid's family." 

Glorious Godfrey descended to the table in front of the podium, flanked by armed guards, and began handing out what seemed to be an unending supply of brain-controlling Justifier helmets, one at a time. He pumped the hand of each and every one of those who came to him, and more than a few had tears in their eyes. "Bless you, brother," he said to them. "Bless you, sister. Thank you, brother. Hail Darkseid." 

He reflected on the length of the line, and wondered if he could duck out after about 45 minutes or so and leave the rest to Marno and the girls. It had been a tough day. 

Best to have them send a boy and a camera to the room. That always helped him to relax. Darkness knew, he needed it. 

On the street outside the hall, concealed partly by the night and partly by the garb they had adopted, three figures conferred among themselves in voices they hoped would be too low for the door guards to hear. 

"You hear all of that?" asked Dev of Izaya. 

"I heard enough," Highfather replied, quietly. 

Dev picked up a rock from the sidewalk and broke it in two pieces with his hands. "I'd like to go in there and kill him. For what he said about Kara, I mean." 

Superman put his arm about Dev's shoulders. "Take it easy, Dev. I heard him, too." 

"I know about keeping a cover, El," Dev said. "Know it even better than you. It's my job. But once this is finished, I want to merge his atoms with the side of this building. And let him know why." 

"I suggest you save your wrath for Darkseid," said Izaya. "Godfrey's only power is persuasion, though that is great enough. We have wasted time enough already." 

"We'll have enough wrath for Darkseid, I imagine," Kal said. "But I'm a bit like Dev. After what I heard...I think I can spare a little for Godfrey, as well." 

"After me, El. Only after me." 

The three of them walked away. They were only challenged by one street patrol. Highfather looked deeply into each patrolman's eyes. Afterward, the cops wondered why they were standing in the street with nobody in particular around, and went back to their beat. 

There were no such incidents after that. 

-S- 

Snapper Carr had both hands to his temples. "You want us to do what? Together?" 

The Phantom Stranger, standing before him and the others, said nothing. 

"I think he said that he wants us to–" started the young man sitting next to Snapper. 

"I have stated your mission," said the Stranger, as firmly as he ever did. "You may introduce yourselves to each other." It didn't seem to be much of a request. 

Snapper rubbed his hands together, looked at the rest, said the hell with it to himself, and began. 

"Uh, I guess I'll start things out. My name is Snapper Carr, and I am a super-team mascot. That's what the Justice League designated me as after I was too little involved in things to be an honorary member. I, uh..." His fingers snapped of their own accord, and he wished he could stop doing that when he was nervous. "I helped the JLA out on their first public case. It was, like, the one with Starro. I hung around with them until I did a really dumb thing, which was listen to a guy who turned me against them. Turned out he was the Joker in disguise." 

The overweight black man said, "The Joker? Heavy stuff, pal." 

"Yeah," said Snapper. "So I lost even my mascot status that way. Then I, like, got involved with this Star-Tsar cat and it turned out sort of totally uncool. Things were pretty chilled between me and the League as a result. After that I got a job in a laboratory, and I gave it up when I got a gig drawing comic books. I draw for DC Comics. Maybe somebody's seen my stuff? No?" He looked around the room. "Oh. Well, that's my story. Next?" 

The young, brown-haired man in glasses beside Snapper cleared his throat. "Well, my name, my name is, uh, Lucian Crawley. Please don't call me Creepy. That's, really, a name I could do without. I guess I'm here because I was once the Mind-Grabber Kid." 

"The who?" The black woman gave him a totally blank look. 

"The, uh, the Mind-Grabber Kid," said Crawley. "I worked with, well, actually, worked against the Justice League one time. I have this helmet which I designed myself. It amplifies my natural telepathic and telekinetic abilities. But I've never had a, what you might call a 'gig' since then. I write computer software programs. I suppose that's it." 

"So, kid, you're not even a super-hero?" said the stocky, green-clad man. "Sounds to me like you were more of a super-villain." 

"Well, that's one of the reasons why I, uh, didn't do it after than one time," Lucian admitted. "Sorry." 

The black man said, "I guess I go next. I'm Mal Duncan. I used to be one of the Teen Titans. Went under my own name, then I was the Guardian, then the Hornblower." 

"Oh, you couldn't be the Guardian," said Snapper. "He was white." 

"That's the other Guardian, hon," said Mal's wife. "Mal used his costume design and shield." 

"I quit the Titans when they broke up the second time," said Mal. "Since then I've had a couple of novels published, and I'm doing fine. Who's next?" 

"That'd be me," said his wife. "They call me Bumblebee. My real name is Karen Beecher. I had a costume with wings on it to make me fly. I used to be one of the Teen Titans, too, and I got out of it the same time as Mal and we got married. That's about it." 

"Guess I'm next," said the stocky man. "I'm the Human Cannonball. Operated out of Metropolis, but what with Superman, Black Lightning, the Guardian, excuse me, the other Guardian, the Thorn, and the Blue Devil around there, it's hard to find any work. So I retired. I've got a carpet-cleaning business now." 

The only competent-looking one among them, dressed in a white dinner jacket, black pants, and expensive-looking shoes, shot a look at the Stranger. "Do I really have to do this?" 

The Stranger nodded. 

"Very well," he said, acerbically. "My name is Christopher Chance. I make my living as a human target. I assume the identities of persons set up for certain ill fates, and try to stop said ill fates from occurring. It's a living. Now, tell me why–why–you have asked me to operate with these amateurs." 

"Amateurs?" Mal came up out of his chair. "Hey, pal, who you calling amateurs? I don't see any costume on your back." 

"I don't perceive any brains in your head," snapped Chance, and the rest of the crew interposed themselves between Mal and Chance forthwith. 

Chance sighed. "I apologize. It's just...how am I supposed to work under these conditions?" 

"I do not want to work with this man," said Mal. "No way." 

"Mal, calm down," said Karen, and, with a look over her shoulder, added, "We've had to work with worse than him before. But I'm not really sure when." 

"Stow it," snapped Snapper. Then, to the Stranger, he said, "But why? Why have you chosen us? What are we supposed to do?" 

The Phantom Stranger said, "I have chosen you because each of you fall underneath the level required for the late Anti-Monitor's attention. If he even had files on any of you, they were probably inactive." 

Each of them took some time to digest that. The Cannonball finally said, "So, what you're saying is that...we're basically too crummy for him to notice." 

"Oh, jeez," said Karen, looking skyward. 

Christopher Chance looked hurt. "You mean that I...that is, myself..." 

The Stranger just looked at him. Chance remained open-mouthed for a long time. 

"For this reason, you will be perfect undercover agents," the Stranger said. "More conspicuous heroes would draw the attention of Darkseid's forces. Only you have a chance of success in your endeavor...and succeed you must." 

With that, the Stranger walked out the door. The Cannonball tried to follow. "Don't bother," said Snapper. "He won't be there." 

Chance flopped in one of the chairs and put one hand to his head. "I need champagne," he said. "Please. Champagne. Now." 

Snapper Carr looked at the lot of them, and wondered if Aquaman had ever felt like this when he was running the JLA. 

"That'll have to wait," he said. "Like it or not, we've got a job to do. Let's get started." 

-S- 

For the better part of a day, Supergirl had put Superboy through his paces. 

The kid's flight control and speed were decent. It seemed that he'd practiced that power most of all, because he liked it. She could fly rings around him, but he had nascent talent. Just underdeveloped. She raced him across the sky and pushed him to really open up, smiling as her super-vision detected a look of surprise on his face as he realized his capacities, then a youthful grin as he appreciated what he could do. 

Kara had also put him through a bit of rough-and-tumble sparring. His strength wasn't up there with her Kal's or Dev's, but he was a growing boy, after all. He admitted to taking a couple of martial arts classes in school, and she showed him a few klurkor moves. It seemed that he liked having a partner as strong as or stronger than himself. He'd also shot a few appreciative glances her way, but she'd emphasized that she had a boyfriend back home, so he didn't press it. 

Guess I don't have to worry about a Mrs. Robinson complex, she told herself. 

Then the two of them were joined in the air by a flying Harbinger, who was carrying D'reema. Kara slackened speed and Superboy followed suit. Their two friends quickly caught up to them. 

"I feel we should go, Kara," said Harbinger, simply. "If we stay here much longer, we tempt Darkseid. This world isn't used to our kind of conflict. Besides, I wish to contact my sister-self." 

D'reema added, "She told me she feels an empathy with her separate self, and that the other her may be in danger." 

"Suits me," said Kara. "You want us to head back to Earth-One?" 

"By way of another Earth," said Harbinger. "There is at least one other in our immediate primary system that needs checking. A brief visit will not hurt." 

"You mean you're leaving?" said Superboy. 

"'Fraid so, Kal," said Kara. She flew closer to him, then leaned in and pecked his cheek. "You take good care of your Earth. Once this is over, Kal and I will try to pay a visit. If it's all right with your folks, of course." 

"I don't know about my folks, Kara," beamed Superboy. "But it's sure all right with me." 

"Tell your folks goodbye for us, Kal," said Supergirl, and joined hands with the other two. Beautiful Dreamer and Harbinger said their farewells to the Boy of Steel, and a crackle of energy from Harbinger surrounded the three of them. 

They began to fade from Earth-Prime's plane of existence. 

Superboy looked at their vanishing figures. He looked down at the house where he and his parents lived, over a hundred feet below. He hesitated a long moment. 

Then, just in time to catch the event horizon, Superboy shot forward and entered their space-warp. 

It was over too quickly for him to sense anything that happened during the transition. Between two ticks of a second hand, he and the three women had slipped into another universe. One great difference was apparent. 

The new universe was dark. As dark as midnight. 

Stars were visible above them, and the buildings of whatever city they flew above were in sight below. Was the time differential that great between dimensions?, Superboy wondered. Was it late afternoon where they came from, and darkest night in this world? 

The women looked as perplexed as himself. Then Harbinger pointed upward, and shielded D'reema's eyes with her other hand. He looked up in the direction she had indicated, as Kara was also doing. 

His eyes immediately compensated, and he was glad they did. Otherwise, he might have suffered ocular damage. 

The sun was in eclipse. And it looked as though it was staying that way. 

Supergirl's head jerked in another direction, as if she had heard something to tip her off. Following her lead, Superboy activated his super-hearing. A sound of rushing air, as if a missle was coming towards them. And it was coming towards them. He triggered his telescopic vision and caught sight of it. 

It was a man. A flying man. 

The flying man had white hair, silver arms, a blue chest, and red legs. He left a trail of sparkles behind him in the sky. 

At about the same time, they heard a boom, not unlike a cannon, below them. This was followed by similar booms from other directions. A shell of some sort whizzed past him, not missing by that much. 

The flying man was now among them, not slackening speed, saying, "Come on!" Supergirl and Harbinger, still carrying D'reema, didn't hesitate, so he supposed he shouldn't either. Further booms were heard, and one shell ricocheted harmlessly off his leg. 

The white-haired man led them aerially to a meat-packing plant that seemed not to have been in operation since the Nixon Administration, and Superboy wondered how whoever was lobbing shells at them could miss tracing the trail of sparkles there. But it seemed to fade out fairly rapidly. 

The man looked grim as he said to Supergirl, "You're lucky I recognized you and Harbinger here. Get inside. We'll probably have to change hideouts as a result of this." 

"Hideouts?" Supergirl looked puzzled. "Cap, what are you talking about?" 

"Who is this guy, anyway?" asked Superboy. 

"His name is Captain Atom," said Harbinger. "We are in the universe designated as Earth-Four." 

"Okay, glad to know it," said Superboy. "But, just so we're all on the same chapter heading, what is going on?" 

Captain Atom looked at him. 

"We're taken," he said. "This world has been conquered." 

To be continued... 


	20. Part 20:  War on Earth-4

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 20 

by DarkMark 

"Conquered?" said Kara. 

"Get in here," said Captain Atom, pulling a door open, "and we'll talk about it." 

"What is this, anyway?" said Superboy, his eyes widening. "How do you conquer a planet? How can you do that?" 

"Kal," Kara said, "Get in." 

He obeyed. Beautiful Dreamer and Harbinger, giving each other an uneasy look, followed suit. The nuclear warrior rolled the door shut behind them on its tracks and locked it, then held up his hand and sprayed it with sparkles. "My form of alarm system," he said. 

The interior was as dark as the set of a Forties detective movie. Chambers which had served as offices were dark, cobweb-ridden. Captain Atom was careful to lead the way, and Supergirl, checking with her vision powers, could tell that he was allowing them to pass through several more "alarm systems" of his creation. 

Nonetheless, when he opened one last door, a buzzing blue gun was stuck in his face. It was quickly withdrawn when the holder saw who was standing there. "Evening, Nat," said the masked man who held it. 

"Ted," said Atom. "We may have found some help." 

Supergirl, Superboy, D'reema, and Harbinger cautiously entered. The chamber within, converted from the slaughterhouse and meat-packing establishment that this place had been, was a bit better-lit. A long table dominated the room, probably taken from an executive office. People in costumes sat about it, each of them regarding the newcomers. 

One of them wore a blue business suit and did not appear to have a face. Another, a woman in a dark blue mini-skirted outfit with a mask that had grilles over her eyes, relaxed a bit when she recognized Supergirl and Harbinger. The third was an athletic-looking man in a black eye-mask and a red-and-blue outfit divided half-and-half down the middle of his chest. A fourth was the most powerful-looking of all, dressed in the armor of a Greek soldier of old, with a huge curved shield leaning against the wall behind him. Three others, two men and a woman, were dressed in blue and red uniforms almost identical to each other. 

"Well, Cap," said the masked girl, "looks like you've brought us some help. Who are they?" 

"Harbinger and Supergirl I've already met," said the man who had met them at the door. "It was in the Crisis. Glad to see you're around." 

"You too, Blue Beetle," said Kara. "Can somebody do the introductions for us?" 

"I sure as heck hope they can," said Superboy. "More people out of comic books. This is literally too much. No offense, folks." 

The blonde in the tiara shot him a look. "Speak for yourself, Blue Boy." 

Captain Atom said, "The gunshots we heard were directed against these people. Evidently it was a good idea for me to investigate. As Blue Beetle said, we know two of them from the Crisis. If you four would introduce yourselves to us, we'll do the same." 

"You're certain they're all with us?" said the faceless one. 

"I fought side-by-side with two of them," said Captain Atom. "I saw her almost die, fighting the Anti-Monitor. That's credit enough with me." 

"I've never met any of 'em," said one of the three in the blue and red uniforms, a big, brown-haired male who looked like a pro football player. "Then again, we didn't even get tapped for the Crisis. So that don't mean anything." 

"That's fine, Brute," said the man in the half-and-half suit. "Okay, folks, if you please." 

Harbinger said, "My name is Harbinger, though I was born as Lyla. The Captain and the Beetle both know me from our work together in the Crisis. I was the aide of the Monitor in his crusade against the Enemy. Now, all the worlds in this primary system are linked in another peril, and we had decided to make a short jump here to check conditions on your Earth. I am glad to have done so." 

"If only thou hadst appeared earlier," said the man in armor. "Still, it is past." 

Beautiful Dreamer looked at the others of her party, then took a step forward. "My name is D'reema, but most Earth people know me as Beautiful Dreamer. In my home universe, that is. I am from the world of New Genesis, and my family group was involved in the crusade against Darkseid in times past, and now in the present. I am honored to meet you." 

Supergirl drew a breath. "Okay, I'm Supergirl, Kara Zor-El, formerly of Argo City. I am a Kryptonian, like my cousin Superman. I'm from what we call the Earth-One universe, and I'm involved in this present fight against Darkseid, plus being bodyguard for the other two ladies here, no offense. Like they said, Cap Atom and Blue Beetle have met me. Now, Kal, go ahead." 

The teenager in the famous costume swallowed once, felt like he was being called on to recite before class, and finally began. "My name is...well, I guess my name in this circumstance is Superboy. I'm kind of from the planet Earth, but I was born on Krypton. I just found that out a day ago. These ladies just dropped into my Earth and told me...told me a lot. Maybe more than I wanted to hear. I figured that I might be needed in this war, if that's what it is. I'm pretty new at this, and you'll have to excuse me for my, uh, being kind of green." 

Cap Atom, surprisingly, gave him a fatherly smile. "It's all right, son," he said. "Nobody's born knowing how to be a super-hero." 

"Amen to that," said the black-haired one of the Uniform Triplets. "I'm still not sure that I know." 

"Having said that," Captain Atom continued, "I'll follow suit, for those two of you who don't know me. My name is Captain Atom, born Nathaniel Chistopher Adam. I got this way from taking an unscheduled and unexpected flight in a nuclear-powered rocket that got triggered prematurely. It blew up, and so did I. But I was able to reintegrate my atomic structure on Earth, and found out I had nuke-based powers. That's it for me. How about you, Nightshade?" 

The girl in the grille-mask clasped her hands together on the table. "Okay. As he said, my name is Nightshade. I know judo, I can transform myself into a living shadow, and I'm the daughter of a man from this Earth and a woman from another dimension. On to you, Beetle." 

The Beetle said, "Hi to both of you who don't know me. I'm the Blue Beetle. No fancy powers like the Captain or Nightshade, just two fists and a load of gimmicks. So far, they've been enough, until this present situation. I took over from another Blue Beetle after his death. I recently acquired his power scarab, but I haven't been able to make it work. And yeah, I worked together with Harbinger and Supergirl here, plus a lot of other heroes, in the Crisis. I hope you can help us in ours." 

"We'll try," promised Kara. 

"I am the Question," said the business-suited man in the faceless mask, and left it at that. 

"Call me the Son of Vulcan," said the one in the Greek armor. "I was but a mortal man, until I did issue a challenge to the gods of Mount Olympus. Zeus did allow Vulcan to adopt me as his own, and give me the power of an Olympian. Regretfully, I did not participate in your Crisis. If there is a crusade beyond this one, an you aid us in liberating our world, I will join with you to make up for mine error." 

Supergirl found herself a bit impressed. She'd met Hercules once, on one of Superman's cases, and Dev had told her that they'd taken her near-lifeless body to the Olympus of Earth-S to be cured by Apollo, but her contact with Earthian "gods" had been very brief. If this guy entered the ranks against Darkseid, he might be of great help. 

Then again, he apparently hadn't been able to defeat what was oppressing their world. 

The blonde masked man in the uniform of which Kara thought Two-Face would have approved spoke next. "You may call me Thunderbolt, in this identity," he said. "Because of my parents' efforts to save Tibetian monks from a plague–efforts which, by the way, caused their deaths–I was allowed, from childhood on, to study the monks' ancient scrolls and be trained by them as the One. I learned how to harness the untapped power of my brain and body. I could wish for more peaceful uses for it. But the world doesn't seem to offer much hope of that." 

"Well, I guess that leaves us," said the black-haired man of the blue-and-red-clad threesome. "The three of us are the Sentinels. We get our powers from devices a scientist left to us before he passed on. I'm Helio, and in my case, the device is a flying belt. You next, Cindy." 

"I'm Mentalia," said the blonde woman in the tiara. "This headgear here gives me telepathic powers, plus some TK and such. Hi. Nice meeting you, and like the others have said, I hope you can help us." 

The big guy next to her said, "You can call me Brute. These gloves I'm wearing power me up, give me super-strength. We didn't exactly have a long stint as super-heroes. Hell, we were retired for a long time. But when this thing hit the world, we couldn't stay retired." 

"And that is the membership of our group," said Captain Atom. "Which, by the way, we call Justice Force. Now, let me tell you about the situation." 

Kara crossed her arms and listened. 

"Seven days ago, we–our world–was attacked by an army of super-beings," Atom continued. "Some of them were from our Earth. Some of them, I think, were from yours. They were under the direction of a man named Eclipso." 

"Eclipso," said Kara. "So that's why the sky is darkened. I should have guessed." 

"I know of him, too," said Harbinger. "He's an apt choice for Darkseid's underboss. Powerful and ruthless." 

"So you do know of him," remarked the Question. "Doesn't surprise me." 

"How is it," said Superboy, "uh, excuse me for asking. But since you're super-heroes, how is it that they were able to, kind of, overcome you?" 

Clark knew that was wrong as soon as he got looks from at least two of them that said, "You moron." 

"Son, except for the Captain, the Son of Vulcan, and the Sentinels here, we're without super-powers per se," explained the Blue Beetle. "We could hold our own well against the Dark Brigade. It was the reinforcements we had problems with." 

"Don't put Kal here down," said Supergirl. "He may be inexperienced, but I guarantee you that when the action starts going, he'll be somebody you'll be proud to have by your side." 

D'reema saw the way Superboy looked at his cross-dimensional cousin and was very proud of her at that moment. 

"I'm sorry, kid," said the Beetle, and offered his hand. Superboy took it and shook. "We're not in our best frame of mind lately." 

"No problem, man," Clark replied, and slapped the Beetle's shoulder a trifle too hard. The hero winced and stooped a bit. 

"Watch it, kid," said the Beetle. "You're strong." 

"Sorry," said Superboy. 

"Tell me, though," said D'reema. "How could even a team of powerful villains conquer the entire planet so quickly? Unless they had the legions of Apokolips behind them, I hardly see how they could have managed it." 

Thunderbolt answered her. "It's that mind-machine of Eclipso's. What we know is that, shortly after they entered our space, he set up and activated a contraption that dampened the free will of the population. Within a day, as far as we can tell, it spread across the planet. He just suggested they give him dominion of the world, in the name of 'Darkseid'. That is the name you folks threw out a few moments ago, correct?" 

"That's him," said Supergirl. 

"How did you escape his influence?" asked Harbinger. 

Mentalia said, "A little combination of my powers and Cap's. He amped my tiara a bit with his energy. It's enough to cover us, and a couple more, but we can't extend it a lot further. Encouraging that you four haven't fallen under." 

"Kal and I are Krypts," Kara said. "We're probably invulnerable to it. D'reema here is an outworlder, and Harbinger is Harbinger." 

Nightshade's hands came down flat on the table. "You're immune to it?" 

"Maybe." 

"Then you can destroy it!" 

"Maybe," Kara repeated. "Give us a rundown on the bad guys you faced." Then she stopped, without warning, and looked towards the door. "Kal," she said. "Tell me what you hear." 

"I take it you're not talking about the conversation," said Superboy, and activated his super-hearing. 

The rest of the group got up from their chairs. Captain Atom raised a hand, and, Kara guessed, shot an invisible stream of energy towards the alarm system he had created. As he did so, his other fist clenched. 

"We're being approached," Superboy said. "I'm using my X-ray vision now. They're trying to make a covert strike, but I see them." 

"So do I," said Kara. "Remember, Kal: hype your hearing a tad at all times in an unfamiliar situation." 

The Question said, "So they tracked the Captain here by his light trail. Let's hope they weren't expecting you four." 

"Expected or not," said Harbinger, "it's time we lent you a hand." 

The Son of Vulcan said, "They anticipate bringing battle to us. Let us, instead, bring it to them." 

"As little as I like battles, there are some that must be fought," agreed Thunderbolt. "And this is one of them. Okay, Justice Force...at them!" 

Superboy saw Supergirl charging straight at the wall of the room and Captain Atom following her lead. He figured it was therefore the best thing to do. With them, he crashed through the wall and the ones beyond. That left a path of attack for the others, one not quite anticipated by the villains they faced. 

They brushed the stone dust, wood fragments, and metal shards off their bodies as they charged. 

Clark had no idea who they were facing. Supergirl hadn't much more of an idea, especially with the Earth-4 baddies. But sometimes the best plan is to wade in with both fists flying, and that's what both of them did. 

The villains included Tokamak, an atomic-powered enemy of Firestorm's; Multiplex, Bolt, Mindboggler, Slipknot, and Hyena, all of whom had fought Blue Devil and Firestorm at one time or another; the Fiery-Icer, Dr. Spectro, Punch, Jewelee, the Banshee, and the Madman, all of them native to the world of Earth-4; plus Felix Faust, an Earth-1 sorceror and foe of the Justice League, who looked as though he didn't want to be there and looked even more so when he saw the two Superpeople. 

"Hello, Felix," said Kara, and leaped over the clot of villains to zero in on him. He was the only magician she knew of, and, therefore, the only threat to herself she could confirm. 

Faust said, "Oh, my. N'gurrthah sebling flexis..." 

While he was still formulating the spell, he caught Supergirl's knuckles with his chin and went flying backwards. 

Superboy made for Tokamak. One part of his mind was in awe, astonished that he should be fighting a comic-book super-villain. Another part was feeding low-level fear (What can this joker do to me? I've never fought anything bigger than a local crook yet!). The driver's seat portion of his mind sent him forward, and the armored figure lifted a hand and blasted him onto his back with a nuclear burst. 

Kal was surprised as he picked himself up. He could smell the ionized air from the burst, felt the heat on his chest, knew that he should be harmed, by all rational standards. But he wasn't. 

He was a Superboy. 

"Okay," he said to himself, and sprang upward and forwards at Tokamak. His opponent swore and unleashed blinding bursts into his face. It didn't seem to matter. He grabbed the villain's chest plate with both hands, exerted his strength, and tore it off. Then he cast the pieces aside. Tokamak's gloves sputtered with dying sparks. 

Dr. Spectro's hands were outthrust, blasting the heroes with blue rays from the gem-banded wristlets he wore. They had the effect of producing depression among the heroes, causing the likes of Nightshade, the Beetle, Helio, and D'reema to stand slackly, prey for their attackers. The effect didn't last long. Captain Atom flew into his old foe, smashing at him, cutting off his blue beams and restoring his comrades to normalcy. Spectro, as powerful as Atom, slugged the hero back and blasted him with a heat ray. The battle was joined. 

The Fiery-Icer tried encasing the Son of Vulcan in a huge cake of ice from the cold-projectors on his wrist, but without Felix Faust, who had defeated the Son in their earlier encounter, it was a doomed effort. The Man of Might simply expanded his muscles and cracked the ice to pieces. His shield deflected the subsequent burst of flame. A few seconds after that, the Son of Vulcan grabbed his foe by the shirtfront, slammed him into a wall, and rendered him unconscious. He stripped the villain's temperature gloves off and crushed them. Then he smiled. 

For the first time in a week, he began to actually think that they could win. 

Supergirl wondered if she should help the others with their fights, and decided to hang back and see how the Earth-4 crew performed. It would be a psychological boost to the Justice Forcers if they could tackle their enemies themselves, and win. She suspected that the mind-dampening forces of Eclipso's were only partly thwarted by Mentalia. So, when Superboy was about to charge in after another foe, she caught him by the shoulder. "Wait up, Kal," she said. "Let's see how they do on their own." 

"But, Kara–" 

"Trust me on this. Just for once. Okay?" 

"Okay," he said, sighing. "I sure as heck hope you know what you're doing." 

"So do I, chum," she said. "So do I." 

Jewelee was tangling with her nemesis, Nightshade. The brightly-costumed villainess had improved her martial arts skills since her earlier encounters with the Darling of Darkness and was matching her blow for blow, grip for grip. Eve Eden found herself relishing it. She loved good competition. But when Jewelee hip-tossed her against a wall and followed up with a jewel-blast that would have put a hole in her, instead of the wall, had she not dodged, Eve decided to forego the no-power rule. With an effort of will, she transmuted herself into a shadow. The next blast of Jewelee's went right through her, without harm. 

"Damn!" cursed the villainess. 

Nightshade came at her too fast to be avoided, solidified, and delivered a solid right to the jaw. Jewelee sprawled unconscious. 

She looked back at Harbinger, the closest one to her, and grinned. "That felt good," she announced. 

"Then feel this!" snapped Bolt, and loosed a blast of high-powered energy at them. Harbinger barely had time to dish up a protective shield. At the same time, Beautiful Dreamer used her illusion power. When the afterglow of the power burst died down, Bolt stared. The women were gone. Not destroyed, not injured, but simply not there. 

"Where in hell did they go?" he yelled. 

A red-gloved hand grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. "You've got other problems," advised Brute, and cold-cocked him. 

The Banshee, a green-costumed villain whose gas-filled costume allowed him to fly, had singled out his old enemy, the Question. From an aerial perch, he pulled out a .45. "Sorry I can't offer any of the silly gimmicks the others have," he said. "I find this more efficient." 

The Question crushed a packet he had been holding in his right hand. Immediately, a large cloud of smoke obscured the spot in which he was standing. The Banshee, swearing, peppered the area with bullets that spanged off building walls. 

An instant after that, he felt a rope-line entwining itself about his neck with a grappling hook on the end of it. The Banshee grappled for it, trying to keep it from strangling him as he was pulled quickly down to the ground. He dropped the gun, trying to use both hands to pull the rope away. The Question got him on street level, slackened the rope, and punched him in the face. 

"I find that most efficient," he remarked to his prone opponent. 

Another noose was knotted about the neck of another combatant. Slipknot, standing on the roof of a two-story structure, had his rope on Thunderbolt's neck, and was lifting him off the ground with it, using his considerable strength to try and lynch the blonde hero on the spot. T-Bolt's face was turning red, and the fingers he had clasped about the noose didn't seem to be doing much good. 

"Aw, man," said Superboy, and prepared to take action. 

"NO, Kal," said Kara. 

He turned his face to her, showing anger and disbelief. "That guy is killing one of ours! I can't go and let him die!" 

"Either one of us can stop this at any instant, Kal," Supergirl said, holding him fast. "Give him ten more seconds. If he can't get out of this in that time, burn the rope with your heat-vision. But give him that long." 

Instead of grabbing the noose, Thunderbolt reached up to grab the rope above his head. 

(I can do it...) 

He ignored the oxygen deprivation, went into the place within himself that harnessed the totality of his mind and body, and sent himself upward in a backflip. 

(I must do it...) 

With a series of acrobatics staged so rapidly Slipknot didn't have time to let go of the rope, Thunderbolt propelled himself upward on the side of the building, flipping over and over, soles contacting, arms contacting, head contacting, in a display of moves that had Superboy gaping and Kara looking on in silent approval. 

(I MUST DO IT.) 

Then the Master of the Mind had propelled himself up and over the side of the roof, grabbed the rope to give him more slack and to yank Slipknot within reach, and, even as his foe let go of the rope, snatched him by the tunic. Slipknot, no slouch in the fighting department, tried a martial arts strike at Thunderbolt. 

It was blocked and five blue-gloved knuckles slammed Slipknot onto the far side of wakefulness. 

Thunderbolt loosened the noose from his neck and breathed more easily, looking down at the rest in triumph. 

"See?" said Kara. 

Multiplex was doing what he did best, which was duplicate himself, amoeba-like, into a dozen separate Multiplexes, each with its own blast-weapon. He advanced on the heroes. The whole deal seemed to be going to hell, but he'd be in a lot worse hell if he didn't prove to the Boss that he'd done his share. 

Harbinger said, "I'll take this one," and, concentrating, split herself into six different Harbingers. It taxed her somewhat, duplicating selves from a source-self which was a duplicate itself. For a moment, each of the new Harbingers showed the strain. 

"Lyla," called D'reema, in concern. 

"It's all right," said Harbinger. She pulled herself together just as the Multiplexes took aim. "Draw," she dared him. 

As he did, each of the Harbingers raised their arms and shot forth twin beams of energy. 

They dropped the Multiplexes in their tracks. 

After that, Harbinger remerged into her one-self. D'reema was awed. "Can you do that all the time?" 

"Usually," said Lyla, leaning a bit on the New Genesite. "But in this state, it can take something out of me." 

Looking sad, D'reema said, "I regret that I haven't been able to be of much aid in this. My powers are illusionary in nature. I am not much of a warrior." 

"You are the most important person here, D'reema," said Harbinger, fixing her with a serious look. "You are our living weapon against Darkseid. Just because you can't throw a punch, or do energy-blasts, doesn't make you a fifth wheel." 

"I don't know this 'fifth-wheel' concept," D'reema admitted. "But I understand its context. Thank you, Lyla." 

"You're welcome," Harbinger replied. "But we're not out of this yet." 

Mentalia drew one of the deadliest opponents in Mindboggler, a powerful female telepath who had been Firestorm's foe. As the two of them locked minds, Cindy Carson realized that she was, most likely, outmatched: the force of her enemy's mental assault was more than she could muster. Mindboggler smiled, wickedly. This operation might be going down the tubes, but at least she could take away one scalp with her. 

Your will is my own,> she sent. Your mind is my own. Now I command you–> 

With that, Mentalia stepped forward, smacked her opponent across the face, and was gratified to feel the mind-pressure fading. 

Ohhhh...> groaned Mindboggler. 

Feeling boggled enough yet, honey?>, sent Mentalia, and sealed it with a bolt that kayoed her foe. 

The Blue Beetle faced off with the Madman, a many-colored crook who had one led a gang of similarly-costumed cohorts against him. The Beetle had his gun out. "Nice try, BB," the villain allowed. "But remember, I know about the gat. I took it away from you first time we met. That was how I learned it was just a flash gun, when you used it on me." 

"I remember," said the Beetle, evenly. 

"So I had me a pair of contact lenses made that'll filter out your little flare-ups," the Madman continued. "That gives me a free hand to beat your brains out." 

The Beetle triggered his gun. 

A jolt of electrical energy hit the Madman square in the chest, caused his dyed hair to stand straight out, and gave him a look of pain and terrible surprise. 

The Beetle strode forward, slugged the Madman in the gut, straightened him out with an uppercut, and put him down for the count. 

"I've modified it since then," he explained. 

Helio, the flying Sentinel, had just finished a punch-up with Punch, Jewelee's partner, and had come out the better of the two. That left only Brute, who was beset by the Hyena. The latter was a beast-woman, all fur, claw, ferocity, and strength. She was slashing away with her hind feet at the Brute, who was doing all he could to restrain her with his power gloves, and doing a poor job of it. His face was already showing some scratches, and his shirt was in tatters, showing the gashes in his chest. 

Superboy didn't ask permission from Kara. But he felt her hand leaving his shoulder. Without a word, he leaped at the two of them, dragged the raging Hyena from Brute's body, held her screaming and clawing uselessly at him for a second, then said, "That's enough for you." He smacked her once in the jaw. She went limp. 

"You all right, fella?" he said to Brute. 

The burly ex-gridironer felt of his chest with his left hand and saw blood on his glove. "I've been worse," he allowed. "Thanks, brother." 

Superboy gave him a hand up, then turned to Kara. "This was all right, wasn't it?" 

"Definitely, Kal," said Supergirl. "One of the biggest lessons you have to learn about combat is when you're needed, and when you're not. Brute here was in a tight spot, and he needed assistance. That's why I let you go." 

"So...how will I be able to tell? When I'm needed, and when I'm not?" 

"When you've got a little more experience under your belt. By the way, congratulations. You've just had your first super-hero fight. How did it feel?" 

He grinned, still holding onto the Hyena. "Felt good." 

Captain Atom descended from the skies with the unconscious form of Dr. Spectro. "Well, that settles that," he said. "But we've got to get on the move. We've drawn enough attention as it is." 

"Cap," Supergirl said, "how was it that Eclipso was able to conquer your whole planet with just this little band of mediocre villains? We didn't seem to have much problem with them. And, honestly, neither did you." 

The Question answered. "This is only part of Eclipso's forces. He has more soldiers under his command, some powered, some not. He didn't expect that much of a problem with us, since he'd defeated us once before. He wasn't counting on you." 

"True, I suppose," said Harbinger. "If Kara hadn't taken out Felix Faust with her speed powers, we might have had rougher going against his sorcery." 

"And with your speed powers, we might not have had to fight these idiots at all," said Nightshade, snippishly. "You could have beaten 'em all probably inside of a minute." 

"True enough, Nightshade," said Thunderbolt, standing over Slipknot's kayoed corpus. "But she let us do it. We found out we can do it, again. Wasn't that the case, Supergirl?" 

"You've got it," smiled Kara. "So all that's left is to stop the mind-control machine, and I will do that, since we need to get back on the road. Where is it situated, do you know?" 

"Two of our associates that Mentalia was able to shield passed on the word that he's installed it within the UN building in New York," said Captain Atom. "We tried storming it, but we were blasted back by a physical force even the Son of Vulcan and I couldn't balk. Even you might not be able to withstand it, Supergirl." 

"Maybe, but I intend to try," said Supergirl. "Kal, stay here, but track me with your super-vision. Can you do that?" 

"Well, yeah, but," said Superboy, "I wanted to be in on the action." 

"And we need you here to guard D'reema," she replied. "In case you've forgotten, she's what this entire thing is about. No offense, Captain, but I'll feel better with him helping you guard her. Take it from me...she's important." 

With that, Supergirl jetted upward into the sky, levelled off at several thousand feet, and beelined for New York. It took her under a minute, and only that long because she was being careful. 

The great edifice of the UN building was soon within her unaided sight. She expected a blast of force, and slackened her speed a bit. But it did not come. She trained her X-ray vision on the structure, found only a skeleton force on duty, and most of those wearing strange uniforms with a black sphere overshadowing a white sphere for an insignia. 

On the top floor, she found Eclipso. 

There he was, in black and purple uniform, his long-faced head partly branded with a circle of blue. Not quite Two-Face, but near there. He was at a control panel, watching a bank of monitors. There was something or someone beyond him, as well. Hard...no, impossible for her to make out, even with super-vision. Undoubtedly the source of the power that Captain Atom had encountered. 

She set her jaw and plowed through, smashing through a window. 

A second later, she was forced backward, smashing through the rest of it. 

Supergirl arced outward, hit the pavement, thankfully missing what pedestrians there were, and skidded backward on it, striking sparks, carving ruts in the concrete where she put down her fingers to slow her progress, and making her give thanks for an indestructible costume and an invulnerable rear end. 

But who...? 

A woman in a many-colored costume soared from the broken windowframe, and landed near her, giving her a sour and very confident smile. 

"Get up, Supergirl," said Blackstarr. "Or die where you're sitting." 

To be continued... 


	21. Part 21: Battle With Blackstarr

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 21 

by DarkMark 

The Superman Revenge Squad was mobilized, combat-ready, and on a path that would lead them to Earth-One. 

Their story had begun some decades ago, when Superboy defeated a race of tyrants on the planet Wexr II. Unfortunately, he didn't defeat them enough to keep them from reuniting, forming the Superboy Revenge Squad, and coming after him with plot after plot, scheme after scheme, and atttack after attack, during his boyhood and, later, during his manhood. By the latter time they had renamed themselves the Superman Revenge Squad, gathered alien criminals of all stripes to their banner, and had continued to fight the Bad Fight the best way they could. 

The assignment they had wasn't the way they would have usually played it. They usually tried to hatch a sure-fire trap for Superman, and had gotten pretty close to killing him several times. A full-scale assault on Earth wasn't really what they'd considered, before doing the job on the Kryptonian. 

But when Darkseid turns up on your doorstep with enough muscle from the fleets of Apokolips, he can be quite persuasive. 

The Revenge Squad changed their tactics on the spot, and hoped they were doing the right thing. 

It takes time, moving an armada of ships through space. Even with the space-warps and the warp-drive technology, you don't just move men and equipment from Wexr II to Earth in the space of a day. 

Thus, when the fleet came within range of the warning in space, they were quite a few solar systems away from Earth. It was written in glowing letters of some unknown substance, each letter over a mile high. 

In Interlac, the notice read: TURN BACK OR BE TURNED BACK. ONLY WARNING. 

The lead vessel transmitted a quick message back to the command ship, which was: "Advise." 

"Go on, or we'll blast you from the back," was the gist of the reply. 

So they did. Or at least they tried to. 

A telepathic message went out to a number of persons waiting in the void. To each one of us, Superman or Supergirl has shown friendship. Now we repay them, and show them the power of our friendship. The Squad shall advance no farther. Take them.> 

They didn't have to be telepathed twice. 

The lead Revenge Squad warship could have taken on most interplanetary craft, easily. Even most galactic patrol corps kept their distance from Wexr II. When the Squad members within got a glimpse of the man in their viewscreens, they failed to recognize him. He was powerful, a humanoid with receding brown hair, a mustache, and only a vest, trunks, and thigh-high boots for a costume. He hung in space with no need for a protective suit, and for that reason, the ship's captain yelled, "Blast him! And use Kryptonite!" 

The gunner did so on the spot. A blast-ray was combined with the wavelengths of green Kryptonite radiation and turned on the man in space. The corona of light given off by the impact prevented them from seeing what had happened to their target for a moment. If he wasn't Kryptonian, the blast would undoubtedly take care of him. If he was, the green K would do the job. 

The light faded and all they saw was a very grim hero, raising his hands, clasping palm to palm, and pointing them straight at their vessel. 

A burst of silver light lanced out from them, smashed into the ship, and cut it in half. 

Vartox flew forward, made sure the crewmen were safely encased in space suits, and gave the few who were stupid enough to draw down on him a sound thrashing before he moved on to the next ship. 

He was smiling. 

Two bolts of blue and red had smashed into another ship. A black-haired male and a blonde female in very familiar costumes stood on the bridge of the Ravaging Reaver and gave the crew a pair of baleful looks. One of the Squadders, a lizardman from Tok III, reached in his backpack, grabbed a hunk of green Kryptonite, and threw it at them. 

"Oh, please," said Marvel Man, catching it in one hand and crushing it. "Isn't your research any better than that?" 

Marvel Maid, who, like her cousin, came from the planet Terra, was already using one Squadder as a body flail against fourteen others and was melting weapons and circuitry with her heat-vision. "Never mind, MM, just do your job!" 

The few who remained conscious long enough to notice took note that the pseudo-Superman and Supergirl had M's on their chest shields in the place where a big S should have been, and, before they were clouted, silently agreed that the Squad should have done better research. 

Other ships were having their own problems. A pair of yellow-clad heroes, Mighty Man of Zumoor and Dyno-Man from Sorrta, were making a game of grabbing a warship apiece and smashing them into each other. Ron-Avon of Belgor, also dressed in a mostly-yellow costume, smashed through three warships in a row, then doubled back and smashed through them again.   


Another vessel was penetrated by a woman in a white leg-baring leotard and green cape. She carried several other persons in her wake. A contingent of Squad warriors came at them, knowing they had to make a show of offense or risk getting executed by their higher-ups once the thing was sorted out. 

"This one's for you, Superboy," said Mighty Man, a former native of Earth, and activated the ray-blasters on the wrists of his battle suit. His strength was great enough on his asteroid home, but here he had to rely on weaponry. Thankfully, it was strong enough to take several attackers out. 

Garokk, another Earthman, wore an orange spacesuit. It didn't inhibit his power a bit. When five Squadders turned blasters on him, he muttered a series of words which had been lost to most of humanity by the time Atlantis went under the waves. A warp opened up between him and his foes and swallowed the blasts. 

Several horrifying green tentacles with suckers and claws on the underside shot out from the warp with terrible speed, grasped the Squad men, and yanked them back inside. Garokk made a gesture that closed the warp. 

The Revenge Squadders shrank back from him, and concentrated on the great-looking woman in the brief costume. One of their number fitted an impact-plate to his gloved fist and came at her, knowing the power in his knuckle-duster could shatter the hull of a starship. 

She took it in the stomach, was knocked back a pace by one of Newton's laws of motion, and grabbed his wrist. Then, with her other hand, she yanked the impact-plate off his fist and crushed it. 

Luma Lynai, a near-double for Supergirl from the planet Staryl, grinned and slammed him into a bulkhead. Then she waded into the rest of the squad of twenty and started throwing them around the room as if they were ping-pong balls in a bingo bin. 

"Hey, Luma, leave something for us!" groused Mighty Man, who blasted one groggy attacker into full unconsciousness to have something to do. 

"Just sit back and enjoy it," advised Garokk the mystic, who, like Mighty Man, had met Superboy in years past. "There's a lot of ships after this one." 

That there were, and one of them was commanded by someone who had the bright idea of turning the ship's guns on the one which was beset by Luma Lynai and her friends. It would sacrifice the Squadders inside, but the main objective, killing the enemy, would be achieved. Probably. 

As the blast was triggered, its path was intersected by a mighty figure in a costume of red and yellow, with a white and gold cape. He took the burst on his chest, and smiled at the gunners. 

The few who saw his image on their viewscreen thought they recognized him from their studies of Superman's allies, but they were wrong. It wasn't the World's Mightiest Mortal. At least, not the one from Earth-S. 

Two mighty bare hands tore a hole in the side of the ship, and the man who came in a second later managed to make himself heard even through the escaping atmosphere. 

"You've never heard of me in this dimension," the hero said, still smiling. "But after this, I think you'll know to make way for Captain Thunder!" 

And so it went for some time, with the Revenge Squad facing those heroes and others, who arrived from space-warps in vessels of their own, heroes with names such as Liquidman, Stormboy, Tree-Man, Telepathy Man, Shadowman, Lux, Multiple-Man, Mask-Man, Surya, Stella, Zardin the Boy Marvel, Dr. Chill, Aeroman, Windlass, Serpento, Electric Man, Balloon Man, the Freezer, and the Flame. Most of their number were unknown to the villains whom they faced. Many did not know each other until they had been contacted for membership in the group. But all had been aided and befriended in times past by the heroes known as Superboy or Superman, and Supergirl. 

All of them stood to aid them now, as the Friends of Superman. And they were enough. 

Nakox, the Revenge Squad's field commander, stood on his bridge with a communicator in hand, trying to order a tactic that would work. But the only thing that came to mind was a call for general retreat, and most of his ships were beyond that by now. He turned, about to order his helmsman to get them the hell out of there, but never got around to giving the order. 

A hole appeared in the air before him, and two figures stepped out of it. 

One was a man with brown hair and a red and white costume. The other, an Earthman, had black hair, an unsettling gaze, and a spacesuit supplied him by his partner. 

"No one has been killed so far," said the brown-haired man. "I'd advise your surrender." 

For answer, Nakox hefted a hand-weapon and tried to point it at him. He didn't quite manage to do it. 

Kral of Titan, the founder and leader of the Friends of Superman, sent a power-beam of his own through his eyes and knocked Nakox off his feet. 

Azmo Coven, the witchboy who had first fought and then befriended Superboy, probed the minds of several crewmen and then caused certain controls to shift into place, shutting the power system of the ship down for the moment. 

Kral spoke again. "I could have this ship torn to pieces by Captain Thunder, or Vartox, or Luma Lynai, or Marvel Man and Marvel Maid. But I'd much rather you make it easy on us. Will you surrender?" 

Azmo walked a bit closer to the fallen Nakox, with the other Squadmen on board standing at the ready. "There are more than 1,000 subworlds I can send you to," he said. "In over 500 of them, you'd probably last less than five minutes." 

He restored power to the communications setup as he spoke. Nakox took note of it, juggled the variables in his head, and made the logical decision. 

"Men of the Superman Revenge Squad," he said, "stand down." 

  
-S- 

I do not want to be here, Supergirl thought. I really do not want to be here. I want to be back home in bed with Dev enjoying what I can get of my time off. I really, really do not want to be here. 

Then she quickly rolled and took to the air to avoid the power-bolt of Blackstarr's that punched through the concrete she was lying on and made the dirt below it fly. 

As quickly as she could rally herself, Kara arrowed at Blackstarr and punched her in the jaw, hardly holding anything back. It rocked the villainess off her heels and onto her back, but it only impacted on her force field. No real harm had been done. 

Blackstarr herself was capable of doing harm to Supergirl. The permanent kind. 

The facts in the case of Blackstarr, as they were known to Kara, were these: 

She had been Rachel Berkowitz, the daughter of Linda Danvers's landlady and of her husband Hyman. Her birth had occurred only a few years prior to the Berkowitz family's forced journey to a Nazi death camp. Mrs. Berkowitz survived the camps. Hymie did not. Rachel had quite another fate. 

Rachel became, because of her intellect, the favorite of the camp commandant. What that entailed, Kara wasn't sure she wanted to know. But she was a brilliant prodigy, and her education was encouraged by the Nazi who held the fate of all within the camp in his grasp. Two things resulted from this: first, Rachel herself, a Jew, became an anti-Semite, thanks to the commandant's influence and what she saw as her parents' weakness. Second, Rachel comprehended the Unifed Field Theory, and took its power into herself. 

This had the effect of displacing her in time and space for about forty years. When she reappeared in Chicago, at the head of a band of neo-Nazis, she had become Blackstarr. Her powers gave her control of gravitic forces, energies of many sorts, and even black holes. She had been opposed twice by Supergirl (the second time, with Superman at Kara's side), and each time it had been a terrible battle for the Girl of Steel to prevail. Even at that, she never captured Blackstarr. 

The last time they had met, Blackstarr had used her power to expand the shrunken Earth-One universe back to its original boundaries. 

That was what kind of power Supergirl was facing. 

Blackstarr stood there, her purple cloak swirling about a multi-colored costume which, supposedly, represented the forces binding the universe. Her long red hair framed a face which seemed young and attractive, but Rachel Berkowitz was really over 50 years of age. 

She was smirking. 

Supergirl flew forward, her fist upraised, kicking in her super-speed. If she could get in one good punch, perhaps this fight would be finished before it could go on much longer. 

Blackstarr already had her hands raised. 

"Your powers don't just come from a yellow sun," she announced. "They also stem, in part, from Earth's lower gravity. But what if Earth's gravity wasn't lower?" 

Oh, great, thought Kara. Let me get there in time. Let me connect with her jaw just once, and... 

She dropped to the grass below her like a car dropped from a junkyard magnet. 

The gravity of the area below her was approaching that of Krypton. Her strength powers were fading. Just great. Even worse, the pull was increasing still, and she found her body digging into the ground... 

Blackstarr was smirking. 

Kara loosed a blast of heat vision at her face and made her yelp. The gravitation decreased. She was up and at her foe again. 

This time, Kara connected with an uppercut. But it only contacted the protective field of force Blackstarr had coated herself with. Nonetheless, some of the impact got through, and it ratcheted her foe's head back with enough force to satisfy Kara. She unleashed six more blows in the space of an instant, but the field held. 

Blackstarr brought two black holes into being on either side of her and had her instantly perpendicular to the ground, pulled between them, her hair being yanked painfully towards one black ylem and her boots threatening to be pulled off into the other. Despite her power, she was paralyzed. 

Trees and soil started bending towards the black holes, drawn in despite the limiting field Blackstarr had placed around them. Numbly, Kara was glad there weren't people around to have the same done to them. 

"Comfy?" sneered Blackstarr, standing before her. Without waiting for an answer, she unleashed a stream of cosmic rays at Supergirl. Normally she would have shrugged them off, but Blackstarr had concentrated them enough to make them feel like bullets ricocheting off her body. It hurt. 

With a desperate effort, Kara sucked in a large amount of air and expelled it towards Blackstarr. It spun the redheaded villainess off her feet and down the turf for a good hundred yards, cracking her head against the sidewalk at the end of it. The sudden impact startled Blackstarr and her concentration wavered. 

The blonde in blue exerted her full muscular power and yanked herself free of the black holes, which came together in an impact of cosmic sound and coruscation before fading out. 

Some of the civilians were starting to venture into the battle zone. Not good, thought Kara. She whirled and grabbed Blackstarr by the left wrist, then crouched and leaped into the air. Her velocity carried them almost a thousand feet above sea level before Blackstarr hit her with a solid neutrino blast that sent her somersaulting backwards. 

Blackstarr sent further bursts after her, but Supergirl recovered, dodged, and, finally, hovered in place not ten feet away from her foe, her hands at her sides. Her enemy hesitated. 

"Well?" snapped Blackstarr. "Why aren't you attacking?" 

"Because I want to understand why you're attacking me," said Kara, evenly. 

"Oh–" Blackstarr, in disgust, warped gravity under Kara. The Kryptonian girl had already flown out from above the radius of the power-flux by the time she did it. Below them, the soil started collapsing in on itself and a park bench started bending towards the gravity-well with a metallic creaking. Thankfully, no people were within its reach. 

Supergirl still refused to attack. 

"I want to talk to you, Rachel," insisted Kara. "I want to know why someone with a genius-level intellect—yourself—wants to hate what she is, wants to hate her own mother, and wants to make common cause with the worst conqueror in five universes." 

"I do not hate my mother!" raged Blackstarr, her hands glowing with energies that challenged even Supergirl's eyes to look upon them. "But I am not a Jew." 

"Aren't you?" asked Supergirl, her arms folded. "Your mother is, and, if I'm not wrong about this, Jewish heritage is passed on through the mother. Isn't it?" 

"Stop playing with words," said Blackstarr. "To be a Jew is to be a victim. To be what I am...that is to be the true Overwoman! The true Superwoman!" 

"We've got a far different definition of 'super' on our side, Rachel," said Supergirl. "Please let me talk, and we can throw down afterward if you want. But just listen. To Superman and I, being 'super' isn't just having the powers. It isn't just fighting bad guys. It's using what we've got to help other people. People who aren't empowered the way we are, and who are in need of aid. The hurt, the injured, the down-and-out, the destitute...anyone we can, we help." 

"Oh?" Blackstarr's face was curled in a sneer. "Why, then, are there still famines in our world? Why are there still dictators? Why are there still wars?" 

Kara sighed. "There are still famines because even we can't feed everyone," she admitted. "There are still dictators and wars because to substitute our will for human judgment would be making ourselves dictators. Worse, putting ourselves in place of Rao—God, if you prefer. Sometimes we can intervene. Many times, we do save lives. But we do what we can. And I know we've made a difference, Rachel. For the better. 

"You've got powers that even I and Kal can't command. You're part of one of the greatest heritages on our planet, whether you admit it or not. You could use your abilities to help, rather than hurt. Instead of wasting them in this stupid battle...you could do something with them that could make your mother proud. And you could be a heroine." 

For a moment, Kara was certain she saw a flicker of doubt in Blackstarr's eyes. Then it was replaced by sadness, and resolution. 

"No," said Rachel Berkowitz. "That would be futile. All it would give us is the same inefficiency. The same world, divided among hundreds of worthless governments. The same disunity, and the same inability to bring man forward, into Overman. Once, I thought I could manage it, with the help of those fools in Chicago. Then—Darkseid came to me. And I know now that only he can unite our world, Supergirl. No, more than that: unite the multiverse. After his reign is established, there will be no more war, no more hunger, no more inequality...only the reign of the One. That is what I must fight for. In the end, it will even benefit my mother, and her people. But it will not benefit you!" 

Supergirl dodged another powerburst from Blackstarr's hand. "Then you won't reconsider? You won't even think about the possibility that Darkseid might discard his tools, once he's done with them?" 

"The time for words is passed," said Blackstarr, surging forward like the tide of a cosmic storm. "Now, there is only time to kill!" 

Kara rocketed forward and smashed into a curtain of force which sent sheer jangling agony through her frame. But she kept going. 

The problem was, she wasn't getting any closer to Blackstarr. She was merely pushing her and her force-shield further backwards. She also wasn't sure how long she could bear the pain of contact with the shield. Silently, she drew back until the pain ceased. 

Blackstarr's hand glowed red. "I used the power of gravity against you before," she said. "Now, I use the power of a red sun." 

The rays of a red sun, like that which once blazed over Krypton, stripped the powers from any Kryptonian. If hit by that radiation at her current height, Kara knew she might well fall to her death. She prepared for evasive action. 

Before either could move, both heard the sound of a sonic boom. Inadvertently, Supergirl looked in that direction. 

A blue and red blur shot up from below them and hit Blackstarr's field from below, jostling her upward like a piston. Her frantic red-sun blast went far wide of Kara. 

"Ow!" cried Superboy, his hands pained from the contact with the field. "Dang, that hurts!" 

Supergirl clapped him on the shoulder. "Got to show you how to fly without making booms. It's a dead giveaway. But thanks." 

"I–I couldn't stay out of it, Kara," he said, holding his hurt hands before him. "I'm sorry." 

"Forget it. Here's what I want you to do." 

Blackstarr, looking to Supergirl like a candidate for the Wicked Witch of the West, was screeching something from above them and pointing her red-glowing hands at them. The two Kryptonians split up, avoided her red solar blasts, and pulled up with Supergirl in front of her and Superboy behind her. 

The villainess gave her foe a wrathful smile. "First you," she said. "Then him." 

"No," said Kara. "Only you." 

With that, she triggered a needle-thin beam of heat vision. 

It had to be done with surgical precision, but she'd had to do harder things before. 

A powerful burst of heat lanced into Blackstarr's head, past a force-field that stopped neither light nor sound. It slipped past her eyes and impacted in a certain point of her brain. Kara changed angles and shot her heat-bolts twice more. 

Blackstarr's glowing hands slackened, then stopped glowing. Her eyes stared outward at her foe, then seemed to be looking at nothing at all. 

She said something that might have been a groan. At any rate, it was no longer than a syllable. 

Then she began to fall. 

Superboy attemped to catch her and almost managed it, but his hands were still hurting too much. Kara came in below him and finished the job. Blackstarr was safe in her arms. The woman was glassy-eyed, slack-jawed, drooling. 

"Sorry I couldn't catch her," said Superboy. 

"Kal, will you stop saying 'sorry' about everything?" said Kara, using her super-senses to check Rachel's vital signs. "You've done really well so far. But I just..." She hesitated, then looked at Blackstarr with great sadness. 

"What's the matter?" said Kal. "You beat her, didn't you?" 

She looked up at Superboy. "I don't ever want you to have to do what I had to do today," she said. "I just hope there wasn't another way. But there probably was, and I was just too darn stupid to know it. Maybe it isn't irreversible. I pray it isn't." 

After a long pause, Superboy said, "Kara, what did you do?" 

"I lobotomized her," she said. 

-S- 

Snapper Carr was the last one out of the spacewarp in the Apokolips alleyway. He clutched the brown cloak about him and figured that, even with this, they'd be about as inconspicuous as Klansmen at a Black Muslim service. 

He looked back into the warp and saw the Phantom Stranger's face there, giving away nothing. Then it closed, and he saw nothing more. 

"Not my favorite form of disguise," said Christopher Chance, who was nearest the other end of the alley. "But until I can find a subject, I suppose I have no choice in the matter." 

"As if any of us did, Chance," said Mal Duncan, with little affection. "This place makes me homesick for some of the bad-ass dimensions I was in with the Titans. They were nicer. You okay, Karen?" 

Karen Beecher adjusted her cloak about her. "Sure, I'm fine, honey. But let's keep the voices low, okay? That is, if you ever want to get home to write another novel." 

Ryan Chase, the Human Cannonball, shivered. "Kinda cold compared to Metropolis, this time of year," he said. "This your first time out, kid?" 

The Mind-Grabber Kid, wondering if his helmet showed up under the cloak, shook his head uncertainly. "No. I, uh, meddled in something the JLA did a few years back. But I haven't been out since then. I..." He flattened against the wall. "This is scary. I do not wanna be here. Can you take me back? Can anybody take me back?" 

He looked up at five faces staring at him. 

The Kid exhaled. "Sorry," he said. "I'll try not to choke in the clinches." 

Snapper socked him in the bicep. "Be cool, Lucian," he said. "I know how it was when I started with the League. Just some raw recruit beatnik wannabe from Happy Harbor one day, and the next–-wham. I'm up to my lobes in giant starfish and conquerors from outer space. But I coped. You too, okay, compadre?" 

"Yeah," said the Kid. "I'll be okay." 

"See that you are," said Chance. "Because once we're in there, we'll have to rely on you as much as anyone else." 

"Hate to bring it up," said Chase. "But somebody here does know where 'there' is, right?" 

Chance guided him to near the mouth of the alley and pointed. "There," he said. 

The sextet gazed out at a huge, high-walled building that took up acres of land, boasted guards in abundance, and had to be defended by things which probably would have given Superman and Green Lantern a hard time if they tried getting past them. 

Mal whistled, softly. "So that's the palace of Ol' King Darkseid." 

"And who is it, exactly, we've got to get out of there?", said Karen, who had once been known as the Bumblebee. 

Snapper answered them. 

"Her name is Tigra," he said. "She's Orion's mother. Maybe that's easier than getting Orion out." 

"She's Darkseid's wife," noted Chance. "According to the Stranger, that is." 

Nobody said anything for a long moment. 

"Let's move out," said Snapper. 

To be continued...   



	22. Part 22:  The Eclipso Encounter

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda   
  
Part 22 

by DarkMark 

Barry Dark, the king of Gotham talk radio, never forgot the events of that night. Neither did any of the millions who were listening in live, or the audiences who later listened to parts of the truncated broadcast. 

Dr. Hugo Strange, one of Batman's arch-enemies, had busted loose from Gotham State along with most of his colleagues. Surprisingly enough, he didn't throw in his lot with the mob of villains currently making war on any heroes they could find. Instead, he broke into the studios of WDON Radio while Barry was on the air. The breaking in part was easy. Strange had converted two petty crooks he'd found into eight-foot-tall monsters with two injections of his Strange Serum, and the twosome had just smashed their way through whatever physical barriers there were, inanimate and otherwise, till they got to Barry's broadcasting booth. 

Barry had been taking phone calls from listeners about the worldwide crisis up to that point. The break-in had been too fast. Strange's monsters had pitched aside the two guards in the outer office, along with the Gotham parapsychologist who was to have been Barry's guest in the next half hour. Neither they nor their master looked back as they smashed into the booth. 

Barry's first impulse was to turn down his microphone pot. He froze when he saw Strange's .45 pointed straight at his face. "Leave it on," Strange advised. Shakily, Barry's hand went back to the Formica tabletop. 

He tried to rally. "Uh, I'd...I'd like to inform you who may be listening that, uh...we've had an unexpected guest..." 

Strange had shoved Barry away from the board. He tipped over in his wheeled office chair and went plotz on his back, messing up his impeccable Armani suit somewhat. For once, he wasn't worried about his clothes. 

Flanked by his monsters, Hugo Strange stepped up to the mike. "This is Professor Hugo Strange," he announced. "Tonight, I am come to end the Batman's career." 

Barry looked up, from his floor perspective, on the savant and his two gargantuan goons. He decided against any heroic activity. 

"A few years ago, I learned the Batman's true identity," Strange continued, in a voice that held madness. "Sometime after that, he convinced me that I had been duped, but I have since seen through his ruse. I am satisfied and convinced that the face I saw when once I unmasked the Batman is his true face. No matter what happens after tonight, his career will be over. For now I will verbally accomplish what I–" 

There were screams from both the monsters as something attacked them from the back. Even Strange had to stop, in stunned surprise. The two brutes, standing side by side, were each trying to reach behind them at something, some being, which, impossibly enough, was clawing its way up their backs. As each of them tried to bend forward, two yellow hands ending in claws reached around their throats. 

There was a sharp coordinated motion and the monsters began to bleed. Profusely. 

Then they crashed to the ground, and Barry Dark and Hugo Strange saw what was on their backs. It was a sight Barry never wished to remember, and one he would carry to his grave. The audience heard Barry saying, "Oh, my God, oh, my God" continuously. He was not aware that he was saying it. 

The intruder had yellow skin and a red costume. He did not appear to be human, though he seemed humanoid. His movements were something like that of a huge insect or nimble animal, each of the predatory variety. 

Hugo Strange had quite forgotten about revealing the Batman's identity, unless it was somehow contained in the nonsense syllables he was gibbering. 

The yellow being stalked forward. As he did so, he spoke: 

"You threaten secrets of an ofttime ally   
To reveal what's best not known by any man!   
And thus, betraying one who's friend to Demon,   
Incur the bloody wrath of ETRIGAN!" 

The Demon leaped as Dr. Hugo Strange screamed. Barry leapt up himself, ran, tripped over the fallen monsters, got blood on his coat, picked himself up, and ran once again. He ran out of the booth, over the broken door, out of the office, down the hall, and down several flights of stairs before he huffed and puffed his way to the elevators. He convinced himself to press the button and wait for the car, which he rode down to the ground level. 

Gotham cops were already on their way up, and one of them took him by the arm and steered him to a police car for safety. Later on, another cop came down with somebody else in tow, who was placed in the back with Barry for questioning at Headquarters. Dr. Jason Blood did what he could to calm Barry down. 

The police would never tell Barry what they found in the studio. He was just as glad not to know. It took weeks for him to convince himself to get back in there and hit the mike again. 

There were a couple of fingers and enough of a jawbone left for them to make sure it was Strange. 

Batman's identity was safe from that direction, at least. 

-S- 

On Earth-Two, the loose band of Earth-S villains usually referred to as the Monster Society of Evil were having a rough time of it against the Marvel Family and Squadron of Justice. Black Adam had given Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel, Jr. a heavy time for a bit, but numbers took their toll and the titanic threesome were collectively beating him to a pulp. 

Cap socked Adam high in the air above St. Louis's arch. The black-clad scion of Shazam soared several hundred feet above the ground, not under his own power. Mary Marvel yelled, "I'll get him, Cap!", and took off after him. Even at the rate he was travelling, she had no problem matching his speed. 

Except for one thing. Before she could reach him, Black Adam vanished into thin air. 

Mary blinked. Adam had no power of teleportation, nor did he look to be in any shape to have used super-speed to make himself invisible. About the only thing he was capable of doing, in his condition, was not shattering into a million pieces when he fell back to Earth. The problem was, he wasn't there to fall back to it anymore. 

Even though Mary wasn't specifically empowered by Solomon, she could draw on wisdom almost as great as his, thanks to her basic power setup. But even that didn't tell her where Adam had gone. She wished for a moment that she had the vision powers of the Superpeople, but decided that wouldn't be of much use, either, if he'd been teleported. 

Indeed, she was so preoccupied that she failed to take notice in time of the black-dressed beauty coming up on her from behind. She heard the whoosh of air in time to turn her head, but not to prevent her foe from grabbing her by the sides of the head and channeling a bolt of dark power into her brain. 

Darkling, a white-haired enemy of hers who had gained her powers through bargaining with the Realms Below, grinned evilly at Mary as she caused her purest pain. 

The World's Mightiest Girl cried out, took hold of Darkling's wrists, and fought to remove her foe's hands from her head. But Darkling was exerting her full strength, and somehow managing to maintain the contact. Mary's eyes were opened wide in pain, and both their bodies shook in the air as if in the grip of unimaginable forces. One thing could hurt the Marvels, besides a confrontation with a being of equal force: magic. 

Then she heard fragments of a rhymed chant, and felt a bolt of positive power slam into both of them, separating them from each other. The malignant energy-contact was broken, but Mary's senses were reeling. She barely managed to take note of the flying form of Isis, who had sent the bolt into Darkling. The evil sorceress was staggered, but not defeated. Isis brought up her fists, gamely ready for battle. 

Captain Marvel, Jr. preempted that by crashing into Darkling from the front, throwing his shoulder into her breadbasket and knocking the wind out of her. She still seethed with her malefic power, though, and he felt the backwash. 

Isis, held aloft by the wind, made another chant. 

"Aeolus, 'pon whose winds I ride,   
My request be not denied,   
From my foe withhold your breath,   
Until she sleeps, but not in death!" 

Captain Marvel came up under Mary's falling body in a perfect trajectory to catch her with his red-and-gold-sleeved arms. He sped towards Isis and Darkling, and squinted his eyes in amazement at what the Egyptian sorceress had managed. Darkling, still high above the ground, had suddenly wrapped her hands around her throat and was open-mouthed as if trying to draw in breath. Junior had separated from her and was watching her in alarm. 

Even though there was air all around her, Darkling was apparently unable to breathe any of it. 

Yet, she held up one arm and, putting all her effort into it, unleashed a bolt of blackness at Isis. If it struck her, it might knock her out of the sky and negate the heroine's spell. He sped up to intervene, but it was unnecessary. Cap, Junior flew between Darkling and Isis and took the blast himself, slamming backwards into Isis's flying body. She caught him and held him, luckily enough, as Junior looked a bit groggy from the magic burst. 

Bulletman and Bulletgirl were now on the scene, flying up side by side under the power of their gravity helmets. As Darkling silently gasped out her last breaths, she began to fall. The Flying Detectives expertly caught her in a cradle of their own clasped arms. They grinned up at Cap, and he gave them a thumb's up. 

"Isis," he called out. 

"The spell should be letting up by now," said Isis, still holding Junior, who was rubbing the side of his head. "She'll be able to breathe again, but you'd better watch her in case she needs a shot in the jaw. Is Mary all right?" 

"I hope so," he said. "Let's get them back downstairs. Any sign of Adam?" 

Isis shook her head. "Not that I could see. But I got here after Mary did. Where to?" 

He looked down. "The Arch," he said. 

So Captain Marvel and Isis settled Mary and Junior on the great beam of the Golden Arch that spans the skyway over St. Louis, judging that both their compatriots could be examined there without worrying about onlookers getting in the way. Junior set astride the Arch, and held his head in both hands. "Are you in pain?" asked Isis. 

"A little, yeah," he said. "But...I...I don't know. Feels like something...something's in my mind, almost, might be the easiest way to describe it." 

Isis put both her hands on his shoulders from behind. "Perhaps I can help, young Marvel. If any vestige of Darkling's power remains in your body, my magic may be able to counteract it." 

"It's not like that, Isis," said Junior. "It's like...something's being lifted from my brain. Some kind of barrier." 

"Young Marvel, let me help," she said. 

But it was a bit too late. Junior threw his head back in a great spasm, almost knocking himself and Isis off the arch. His legs gripped the metal of the beam, and his hands, reaching backward, steadied her as well. Isis noted, with concern, that he was shaking. But his trembling seemed to lessen as the seconds went by. 

Then he seemed steady, and, indeed, turned to face her, using his flight power to lift him up and place his feet on the arch. But his face bore a look of awe and confusion. She stood and touched him on the chest. "Are you...whole?" 

Without a word, he turned to face Cap and Mary, the latter of whom was still lying on the arch on her back. Cap had been rubbing her wrists and ankles, trying to bring her back to full consciousness. Far below them, on the ground, a mass of civilians was growing, talking, pointing fingers and cameras up at them. They took no notice of this. 

Mary Marvel's eyes fluttered, then snapped open. She had an unfocused look about her. "Mary," said Cap, relieved that she was back with them. 

"Mary," said Captain Marvel, Jr., and his voice held a tone in it that she had not heard for thirty years. 

An instant later, she said, "Freddy." 

And an instant after that, they were in each other's arms. 

Captain Marvel and Isis looked at both of them, and then at each other, in surprise. Isis was much less astonished than Cap, who looked almost aghast. "Have they always been this way?" she asked. 

"Holey moley, I didn't know they were ever this way!" he exclaimed. 

The clinch was held for a long time, and Cap was almost certain he could hear some soft, subdued sobbing from Mary. Below them, as the crowd started figuring out what was happening, a cheer and some wolf whistles went up. The World's Mightiest Mortal had to control himself to keep from swooping down and smashing up a mass of still cameras and videocams. 

He had to admit that he was angry. He didn't know why, entirely. But he was. Even the Wisdom of Solomon didn't cover enough, sometimes. 

Isis sat politely, crosslegged, waiting for the hero and heroine to finish their embrace. When they did, they still held onto each other. Mary's eyes were shining, and Junior's hardly less so. 

"I remembered," she said. "You did, too." 

"Yeah," he said. "Oh, yeah. I remembered. I remembered we're in..." 

"We're in love," she finished. 

Captain Marvel hovered beside them, placing a hand on a shoulder of each of them. "Take it easy, you two. That bolt you took from Darkling has obviously had some after-effects. You'll probably shake this off in no time, and you'll be back to your old selves." 

"Cap, can't you see?" exclaimed Junior. "We are back to our old selves! I remember what I'd forgotten. I didn't even know I'd forgotten it. But it must have been a, I don't know, a memory block." 

"Me, too," Mary agreed, still holding Junior. "Like it was yesterday. Only it was the last case we had in the Fifties, Cap. The one with the Monster Society. Remember that?" 

"Sure," he said. He looked up at Isis. "We fought Sivana and his bunch back in 1954, right before the Suspendium incident." He turned back to Mary. "What is it that you remember about that?" 

"Well, don't you remember, Bill?" Mary was sitting side-by-side with Junior, now, one arm about his shoulders. "Freddy and I had, well, fallen in love." 

Cap's face looked stony. 

"And we were going to get married," said Junior, one arm about Mary's waist. "Once we'd gotten the Old Man to let us age again." 

Isis said, "My congratulations to you both. Truly, this war we find ourselves in is also a time of renewal." 

"Thanks, Isis," said Captain Marvel, quietly. 

"You really don't remember anything, Billy?" asked Mary. "You don't recall how you hated the idea of us being in love at first? But how you got over it, and said you'd help us talk to the Old Man about it?" 

"What did I say? Or what was I supposed to have said?" Cap crouched on one knee. "Are you sure these aren't faked memories implanted in you by Darkling?" 

Mary and Junior looked at each other. Then Junior said, "There's some memory faking here all right, Cap. But whoever did it isn't Darkling." 

"That blast of hers must have dislodged the block," opined Mary. "Maybe Isis's magic emanations had something to do with it, too. No...I remember this. It's real. And I want to keep on remembering it, Billy. I want to remember it for the rest of my life. With Freddy." 

She looked at him and he at her with a love as old as Eden. 

Gauging the expression on Captain Marvel's face, Isis felt a great deal of pity for him. But she held her own counsel. 

"We'll have a talk with the great sir after this is over," said Cap. "But not till this is over." 

Isis said, gently, "The battle still rages across two worlds, Captain. Our forces are sorely pressed. Even losing ground, perhaps. Without Superman or the Lanterns, they need us." 

"They certainly do," said Captain Marvel. "Wouldn't you both agree?" 

"Definitely," said Junior, standing up. 

"I agree, too," said Mary, standing beside him. "And this time, more than ever, we're fighting for love." 

Captain Marvel launched himself into the sky. The three heroes fell into formation behind him. They went in search of allies to defend and foes to fight, and knew they would not have to travel very long or very far. 

And he pitied the first super-villain he'd get his hands on. 

Actually, he'd pity the first dozen or so. 

-S- 

Supergirl and Superboy flew lower in the sky, with Kara still holding onto Blackstarr's almost-limp body. The villainess was beginning to drool, and was staring at everything and nothing in partcular. Kara didn't like to look at her. 

Kal flew very close to her. "It was something you had to do, Kara," he said. "I understand, I mean." 

"Kal, I don't want to talk about it right now," she said. "Just let's concentrate on what we still have to do, okay?" 

"Eclipso?" 

"Yeah." 

He half-laughed. "Just like out of the comic books." 

She shot him a look. "This isn't a comic book, Kal. Eclipso is a deadly enemy. I've never fought him, but I've spoken with a number of heroes who have. They all counted themselves lucky just to foil his plans. Beating him concisively is something that nobody seems to have quite done, so far." 

"This is crazy," he said. "But I'm getting the hang of it. I hope." 

"I'll take point on this," she said. "But I'll need you on backup. His main weapon is a black gem. He focuses his energy through it. That's the main thing to watch out for." 

"His secret identity's Bruce Gordon," said Superboy. "Got scratched by a gem in the hand of a priest called Mophir, which put Eclipso's self in Bruce's body. Whenever there's an eclipse, Eclipso comes out. When there's another eclipse, it puts him back in." 

She gave him an appraising look. "You learned all that from reading comic books, huh?" 

"Turned out to be a pretty good education, didn't it?" 

"Well, just remember: there's a lot they don't put in the comics. And you're going to learn it." 

With that, the Maid of Might descended to the ground outside the UN Building, Superboy beside her, and lay Blackstarr gently on a bench. What few people were outside, mainly guards in fascistic uniforms and people who seemed to have business they would rather have avoided, gaped open-mouthed at the flying figures. Supergirl guessed that, in this world, she and Kal might be in comic books, too. 

"Everyone, clear the area," said Supergirl, in a voice strong enough to be heard by all. "We're about to enter battle. Until it's over–we cannot guarantee your safety." 

A cop came up to her and said, "Say, what's the idea around here, any–" 

Out of time and patience, Kara sucked in a whooshing breath of air and expelled it, sending the man head-over-heels down the sidewalk. Superboy grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. Then she crouched, sprang, and flew upward towards the top floor of the United Nations building. As she leapt, she used her super-vision to probe the structure. 

Eclipso was there, in his office, apparently aware of her. He was fitting his black gem to his unmarked eye, ready to unleash a blast of force. That was fine by her. She'd survived far worse. 

But as she smashed through the window and sent reinforced bulletproof glass flying everywhere, she noticed that he had fitted a loupe of green between his eye and the gem. 

When the eye-blast hit her, it hurt like hell. No, worse. 

It hurt like Kryptonite. 

The impact knocked Supergirl out of the room, sending her back through the window, knocking out more glass on the way. She struggled to breathe, having taken the burst in the chest. Mr. Two-Tone had taken precautions, all right. And they were sending her falling back out of the window. 

A whooshing noise below her barely preceded the two strong, blue-sleeved arms that caught her. Superboy looked at her in concern and dismay. "Kara, are you all right?" 

Supergirl dragged in a breath and fought back the pain and numbness. "I've been worse, Kal. We're going to have to hit him hard, fast, and carefully, from opposite directions. He's got a Kryptonite filter over that black diamond of his." 

"Kryptonite?" Superboy looked, for a second, frightened. "You mean, the stuff that's supposed to kill us? It actually exists?" 

"It sure as blazes does. I want you to keep out of the way of his blasts. In a second, I'm going to try to draw his attention from the front while you go and hit him from the back. But if he whirls and points that thing at you, get out of there. That's an order." 

Superboy looked up and said, "Uh, Kara, I think we might not have a second." 

She looked upward. 

Eclipso was leaning out of the hole in the office wall, holding onto a metal dividing strip between the windows, and focusing his power through the black gem again. This time, though, he wasn't using the Kryptonite loupe. He was just exerting his own power through his "eclipsed" eye, and something horrible was coming from the gem. 

The shadow-demons. 

"Of course," breathed Kara, leaping out of Kal's arms. "Even Blackstarr and the other villains wouldn't be enough to make him dominate this world. Darkseid assigned these demons to him!" 

"Then let's hit 'em!" snapped Superboy, rushing to the attack. 

"Wait, Kal!" cried Supergirl, but failed to grab his cape as he flew away. Instead, she hurled herself after him, only an instant behind him. All it meant was that he ran into the freezing, soul-chilling grip of one of the shadows first, and cried out in unanticipated pain. 

Kara blasted at the shadow with her heat-vision, shattering it for long enough to pry him free. His costume was icy where it had grabbed him. Others were attacking. "I tried to tell you, Kal. Now, do something for me, and do it now. With super-speed." She put her mouth to his ear and whispered an order. With only an iota of hesitation, Superboy turned and sped off. Some of the shadows tried to trail him, but even they couldn't match his velocity. 

Supergirl took a shadow-touch in the chest, right over the Kryptonite-stricken area. It hurt badly. She drew in breath and expelled it in a super-shout, shattering several more windows and the shadow-being. Another one was coming for her, but it only managed to touch her cape before she flew out of its grasp. She swung her head in an arc, lancing through more of the creatures with her heat-vision. 

More of them were emerging from Eclipso's gem by the second. He was smiling. He finally said something. 

"Give up, Supergirl, and finish this farce. I can blot out the sun with these which Darkseid gave me." 

"Then you're gonna have to do it, creep," said Kara, and, flying out of the shadows' grasp for a moment, turned her heat-vision on the floor below him and burned a hole in it. Eclipso fell with a cry to the floor below. He hit hard. The gem tumbled from his grasp. 

But before she could reach him or the gem, a wall of shadows appeared before her. She sought to press her way through the insubstantial mass, but it was cold...so cold... 

By the time she'd gotten through it and pulled herself through the window and onto the floor, Supergirl felt she knew the meaning of Frozen Hell. Her body was covered with the soul-frost of the creatures through which she had passed. They were still reaching out for her. But she would not be stopped. She had to reach Eclipso, had to take that damnable gem from him— 

Eclipso fit the black jewel to his eye again and fired. 

It blew her back through the shadows and out the window. She didn't stop falling until she hit the concrete below with a terrific crunch. 

She looked up, half-dazed, and saw the shadow-beings separating from their wall-self, turning into individual entities again, and flying down at her. 

She also saw something else. 

A blue bullet zooming back over the horizon towards them, an indistinct burden under one arm, probably traveling as quickly as he ever had up to this point. 

If he were just in time. 

Supergirl pulled herself together, stood, and flew at the agents of darkness, using her heat-vision to momentarily disperse them, but knowing they'd reform and counterattack in seconds. Unless she could somehow get to Eclipso in time, it was in Kal's hands. Well, that and those of the one he had brought with him. 

Superboy pulled up before the broken office window, through which Eclipso was still ejecting demons. The evil side of Bruce Gordon had time enough to notice him, and time enough to identify the man whom Superboy had brought back with him at a rate just under the speed of light. He almost had time to unleash a burst of blackness. 

But not before Captain Atom pointed his hands and sent forth a dazzling, blinding burst of light. 

Eclipso cried out. He writhed in agony, struck by his great weakness, and fell to the floor of the office. Normally, such a lightburst would have merged him with his Bruce Gordon self. But Gordon, Kara judged, was probably a dimension or two away. 

The shadow-demons were hesitant, wondering what to do, with the mind of their director clouded by pain. She didn't know how long that status would last, but she intended to take advantage of it. 

Still covered with frost, Supergirl hurtled past the shadows, into the office. She quickly grabbed Eclipso by the shirtfront, dragged him to his feet, and didn't even give him time to look at the cold fury in her eyes before she unleashed a terrific jab with a fist of steel. 

The force propelled him clear across the room and halfway into the wall. There was no way Eclipso could have stayed conscious under the impact. So he didn't. 

The black diamond fell from his fingers and rolled for a few inches on the carpet, coming to a rest against a file cabinet. As Kara leaned against a wall to steady herself, she saw the shadow-demons coming in a rush, and prepared to fight them off. 

But it wasn't necessary. They homed in on the black gem and, compressing themselves into a line, reentered it, as they had evidently been programmed to. Within a minute's time, the ebon creatures were nowhere to be seen. All that remained was a wrecked office, a beaten villain, and a tired heroine. 

Superboy and Captain Atom touched down just inside the opened windowspace. Supergirl picked up the black gem, rolled it over in her hand, tentatively, and then pulled her cape in front of herself long enough to stash the thing in her cape pouch. 

"Let me help with the thawing, Supergirl," said Atom, emitting mild nuclear heat from his fingertips. It helped clear the frost from her skin and costume. 

"Me, too," chimed in Kal, and used his heat-vision to abet the Captain. Supergirl used her own vision-powers to finish up the job. The shadows' freeze-power seemed to extend a bit beyond just the physical realm. But she felt better when they were done. 

"Thanks," she said. "To both of you. We're going to take these two with us, but D'reema and Harbinger have to go as well. Cap, you and your group should stay here and complete the liberation of your world. I'm sure there's more to do." 

"Well, first off, you're welcome," said Captain Atom. "And although we haven't agreed to your directorship–this is our world, after all–I agree that we need to get our Earth back on an even keel. Still, I think one of us should go with you to represent our team in the battle. I'll let you choose which one, as a courtesy." 

"If the Son of Vulcan wants to go with us, he's welcome," said Kara. "I'll take it on faith that your power will be enough to hold the line on this world. If it isn't, we'll be back with reinforcements." 

"So," Superboy said, "where do we go from here, Kara?" 

She looked at him and rubbed her warming wrists. "First, we check in on Earth-One. 

"And then, we're going to New Genesis." 

To be continued...   
  



	23. Part 23:  The Thanagar Conflict

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 23 

by DarkMark 

Supergirl turned to Harbinger. "Think you can manage this, Lyla?" 

The woman in the blue and red costume nodded. "Yes, Kara. But I admit I'll need a recharge session in the Monitor's satellite after this. I expended a lot of energy in this mission. I also need to reunite with my other-self." 

Kara nodded. Harbinger had split into two separate selves for this, one of which was on another gambit entirely. Of all the rest, she herself was the only one who could easily make the trip between Earths unaided. Superboy wasn't experienced enough to do it unaided, the Son of Vulcan might have the power but had never used such, and Beautiful Dreamer had no such ability. And it was important to keep the unit together, so she would allow Harbinger to convey her back to Earth-One with the rest. 

The Son of Vulcan said his goodbyes to Captain Atom. "When we meet again, may victory be ours," he said to his cohort. 

"Thanks, Vulc, and don't worry. If victory isn't ours, we won't be around to meet again," said Atom. With a handshake, he released his friend. 

Supergirl was next to shake hands with Captain Atom. "Thanks very much for your help in the battle, Cap. It was nice working with you." 

He smiled, the sunlight glinting of his liquid-metal uniform. "You're welcome, Supergirl. And thank you for helping us liberate our planet. Let's hope we can keep it that way." 

"Amen to that. We may see each other again before this is finished." She let him go, and picked up the trussed-up Eclipso from where she had him lying on a bench in the UN plaza. She wanted to be the one to carry Blackstarr. But the Emir of the Eclipse she judged too dangerous a villain for Kal to handle, so he was carrying the lobotomized villainess. 

"We've got to go, crew," Kara said. "I have a feeling those shadow-demons may have fed info back to Darkseid somehow, so he may know we're here. Ready for the next leg of the journey?" 

"When you are," said D'reema, putting on a brave smile. Kara was glad she was holding up. The Supertowner was the lynchpin of their defense against Apokolips. It was a safe bet that it'd get a lot harder to protect her, from here on in. 

"Okay, Lyla," said Supergirl. "Do it." 

The heiress of the Monitor stretched out her arms. A pink radiance of power emanated from them, impressing even Captain Atom and making the civilians, who stayed behind makeshift barriers, point and mutter. The warp-energy engulfed Harbinger, Supergirl, Superboy, D'reema, and the Son of Vulcan, brightened for an instant, and then faded, leaving empty space where they had been. 

The quintet of heroes had entered infra-space, and the journey, though swift, took perceptible time. D'reema looked about her and gave her opinion. 

"It's not as good as a Boom Tube, but it's not bad." 

-S- 

In the ruling halls of Thanagar, Hawkman judged that the battle could go either way. 

He and Hawkwoman, Adam Strange, Alanna, and the Earth-2 Hawkman and Hawkgirl were hard-pressed in their raygun-and-dukes duel against Darkseid's coalition of Kanjar Ro, Hyathis, Kaskor, Sayyar, and Kromm, the metal man. It was six against five, true, but the five had great powers on their side. Kanjar Ro's power-rod had made a shambles of their battle site. Hyathis, the powerful dictatress of Alstair, was physically a match for both Hawkgirls, though Alanna could turn the tide in the heroines' favor. Kaskor had been trading shots with Adam Strange with deadly precision. And it was all both Hawkmen could do to keep the metallic Kromm back with both maces and ray-weapons. That left Sayyar, the lizard-man, who had almost broken through the beleaguered heroes' defenses more than once. 

It was getting bad. Hawkman barely dodged one of Kromm's blows. The fist went straight through the reinforced wall behind him. Katar Hol blasted a dazzler-weapon into Kromm's eyes, blinding him long enough for Hawkman to extricate himself. The Earth-Two Hawkman tried tackling Kromm from behind, but had to duck when the metalloid's great arm came sweeping back in his direction. He used the pull of his whipping wings to propel him backward. 

As it was, it put him within range of Sayyar, whose lizardian strength allowed him to grab the older Hawkman's wings and almost pull them off. Carter Hall of Earth-Two was immobilized until Sayyar could be dealt with, and Hawkman of Earth-1 activated his anti-gravity belt to allow him to do just that. 

Unfortunately, Kromm grabbed him by the leg and whipped him into the wall. Only Hawkman's helmet saved him, but he was still dazed. Kromm stood over him, then reached out, his hands looming terribly close in Katar's eyes. 

That was when Katar heard the fluttering sound of another pair of wings. 

"So this is where the battle is," said a voice he hadn't heard in some years. Its owner, a powerful-looking winged man in a black and yellow uniform grabbed Kromm by the shoulders, bore him to the ceiling of the chamber, whirled like a top, and pitched him for a loss down the hall. 

Kromm tried to rise, but another new arrival, bounding down the hall, grabbed him by the tunic front and cocked his fist. The metal dictator grinned. "Go ahead, puny carbonite," he said. "See what it feels like to hit a being of my density." 

"Okay," said the other. 

The brown-haired man in the red uniform let fly, slugged Kromm, and knocked him through a wall. Kromm did not get up. 

Kanjar Ro, triggering another blast that barely missed Hawkgirl, grimaced in anger. "More reinforcements? Who in the void are these?" 

Adam Strange threw caution to the winds, leaped over the duralumin desk he had been using for cover, dodged the blasts of Kanjar Ro and Kaskor, grabbed both of them by the sides of their heads, and smashed their skulls together. "We'll introduce you later," said the Champion of Rann. 

From a position near the ceiling, the hovering winged man momentarily spread his wings wide over the figures of Hawkman-2 and Sayyar. Neither the lizard-man nor the Justice Society member was prepared for what resulted. 

Bolts of electricity shot forth from projectors within his golden wings. Aimed accurately, they missed Hawkman and smashed into Sayyar, knocking him unconscious and blackening several places on his green skin. He fell backwards, letting go of his prey and not seeming much to care about it. 

"Thanks a lot, fella," said the Hawkman of the 1940's. "But—who are you?" 

"He is dead," said another voice. "Did you think you were the only ones who thought of reinforcements?" 

A wall of the building turned into gas at one point, making a portal large enough for a man to step through. He was red-bearded, wizened, looking almost like the caricature of a half-cracked prospector. But his green uniform and the strange wand he carried identified him as one of Hawkman-1's most powerful foes. 

The Matter Master raised his Mentachem Wand. Before any of the heroes could do the same to him with their weapons, they found their arms pinned to their sides by huge constricting bands of solidified air. 

"Do them quickly, Terran," barked Hyathis, the only one of Kanjar Ro's crew still standing. "We cannot allot them time enough for a reversal of fortune." 

The eyes of the man in red, who was Captain Comet, fixed themselves on those of the Matter Master. For a moment, the Master's face was still set in a grin of cruelty. 

Then that gave was to dismay, as the tendrils of Captain Comet's mind reached into his own. 

The Mentachem Wand was fought over by two intellects. The Matter Master strove to intensify the crushing grip of the air-bonds, tried to form choking solid helmets over the heroes' heads, but all in vain. He had never brooked resistance of this sort before, and was unsure how how to deal with it. 

Or even if he could. 

Then the bonds of air parted, the Mentachem Wand flew from his hands to that of Captain Comet's on wings of telekinesis, and the villain had all of two seconds to consider his options, all of which looked pretty bad. 

Hawkman of Earth-1 stepped up to him and said, "Normally I might be merciful. But today, you really should have stayed back on Earth." 

WHAMM. 

The Matter Master's unconscious corpus decorated the floor. 

Literally and figuratively, the heroes of Thanagar, Earth, and Rann breathed easier. 

Hyathis, after a second's pause, screamed, "This is not the end! We have risen before, we shall rise again. I ruled Thanagar once and I shall do so over your enslaved bodies. When we meet again, it will be only Hyathis you face...and it will be only Hyathis who triumphs!" 

"Oh, give it a rest, sister," grated Alanna. "Hold still." 

The two Hawkwomen grabbed one of Hyathis's arms apiece and cuffed them behind her while Alanna held a ray-weapon on their foe. "Now," said the Rannian woman, "will someone please tell me who these two are?" 

"Indeed, madam," said the golden-winged man, lighting on the debris-strewn carpet before her. "I am Toros Tos, son of Koron Tos, ruler of the world Moronon. On Earth, I was called the Shrike. This Hawkman is my friend, and an honorary citizen of my world." He pulled Katar Hol to his feet. 

"It's a long story, Alanna," said Hawkman. "The Shrike's family was in space when their starship cracked up. They sent a lifeboat ship to Earth, carrying the Shrike here when he was a baby. Kind of like Superman. He landed in the Yucatan jungle. A native man saw him, noticed the wings, adopted him, and named him after their bird-totem, the Shrike. We came across him when he was trying to steal back treasures from our museum which had been stolen first from his adopted tribe." 

"True, Hawkman," the Shrike said. "I had thought I was the only winged man on Earth. After I met him and his Hawkgirl, they helped me learn the truth of my origins and aided me in retaking my world from the despot who had taken over in my parents' abscence. Now I rule Moronon. But this one here–" He pointed to Captain Comet. "–he told me that my friends were in need of aid in battle, and I came willingly. I hope you do not mind the intrusion." 

"Mind?" Hawkman-1 clasped hands with the Shrike firmly, in friendship renewed. "You were like the cavalry in a Western movie on Earth. I just hope we don't have to wait for a crisis like this to get together again, Kantos." 

The Shrike grinned. Hawkman-2 offered his hand, saying, "A friend of Katar's is a friend of mine. Put 'er there, Shrike." The Morononian obliged him. 

"And Alanna, this is Captain Comet," said Hawkwoman, putting her hand on Comet's shoulder. "We've worked with him before, Katar and I. But I'm not certain of your story, Captain. Can you–" 

"Sure, Hawkgirl," said Comet, and noticed a slight wince in her eyes when he called her that. "My real name is Adam Blake. I was born a mutant, pretty far ahead of my time evolutionarily. Super-strength, mind-powers, all of that. When I grew up, I called myself Captain Comet after the one that was in the sky on the night I was born. Fought aliens, crooks, the whole nine yards. I operated before the big hero influx on my Earth. The only one I recall from back then was Superboy, and we never met at the time. 

"Anyway, I went exploring in space for a long time, came back when I thought I'd had enough, and fell into the hands of, uh, the Secret Society of Super-Villains. Yes, I think that's a stupid name, too. I was duped into joining them at first, then I fought them. Met the Justice League along the way, including Hawkman and Hawkgirl here." 

"Adam," Shayera said, "I call myself Hawkwoman now." 

"Oh? I'm sorry, ma'am. Definitely. Anyway, when this mess on Earth broke out, I went to the Monitor's satellite to see what was what. I've had access ever since we were summoned by Harbinger, sometime back. You remember that. I found the message you left for the Justice League, when you said you were going to liberate Thanagar. Since I was pretty space-based myself, I thought I'd try and help out." 

"You did," said Adam Strange. "You were one of my heroes when I was young, believe it or not." 

"Oh? Thanks, fella. You've got the drop on me, I guess we haven't met." 

"His name is Adam, too," said Alanna. "Adam Strange. He is my husband, and the hero of Rann." 

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," said Comet. "Anyway, I decided to see if I could pick up some backup on the way. Accessed the Monitor's files, looked under Hawkman, and found out about the Shrike here. I stopped at Moronon along the way, explained the situation, and he was eager to come along. So there you have it." 

"So there we do," said Hawkgirl. "And I'm honored to meet you both, as well. So. We get these idiots locked up, and then we get back to Earth?" 

"No, Shiera," said Hawkman-1. "You and Carter can go back. Comet, too, if he wishes. But Shayera and I...we're staying here." 

For once, Captain Comet looked surprised. "Hawkman," he said. "You're...staying here? But the Justice League..." 

"The Justice League will do fine on their own," said Hawkwoman. "If they need our help, we will come. But only later." 

Hawkman-2 said, "Katar. Is this a spur-of-the-moment decision? Our Earths are still facing a great challenge. They need all our hands, all our wings, to set things right." 

"Thank you, Carter," Hawkman-1 replied. "There's a lot I'll miss on Earth, especially the League, and you and Shiera. But Shayera and I made this decision days ago. We didn't tell you or our friends, because we didn't want them trying to talk us out of it." 

Shayera Hol said, "We love Earth only second to Thanagar. You know that. But every time we have neglected Thanagar in favor of Earth, disaster has struck. The Infinite Empire invasion. The Equalizer plague. The fall of democracy, the rise of tyranny, the earlier takeover by Hyathis here–" 

"Indeed," smirked Hyathis, arrogantly. 

"–and the Shadow War," Hawkwoman finished. "All of that transpired because we were too busy with Earth to take heed enough of Thanagar." 

Adam Strange said, "They told Alanna and I of their decision earlier. But they wanted you two to know only after the battle was won, if we did win it. So that's why we didn't tell you earlier." 

"You thought we'd try and talk you into returning to Earth, too?" asked Hawkman-2. 

Hesitantly, Hawkman-1 nodded. "Yes," he said. 

The older Hawkman clapped a hand on Katar's shoulder. "Then you don't know me very well, do you, Katar?" 

Hawkman-1 smiled, gratified. Then, sobering, he said, "Once before, when we liberated them, the Thanagarians offered me the rulership of this world. I turned them down. Now, I have to accept it. No, let's face it...I have to take over the reins of power here, until we get things on an even keel and democracy can be reestablished. Like it or not, it's my responsibility. And Shayera's, since she'll co-rule with me for the duration. So from here on in, both of us are residents of Thanagar." 

A long pause. Then Comet said, "Well...good luck to you both." 

"Thank you, Comet," said Hawkman. "One favor I'd like to ask of you. If you come across Ray Palmer again...you remember him, he's the Atom of our Earth...tell him goodbye for me, and that he and his bride Laethwen will always be welcome guests on Thanagar." 

"If I ever find him," said Captain Comet, "I'll try." 

Adam Strange said, "Let's wrap this up, Katar. We've got to put these miscreants away, then make the announcement of your, uh..." 

"Dictatorship," said Hawkwoman. "You can call it that, Adam." 

"Rulership," said Alanna. "We'll be reestablishing the Thanagar-Rann alliance, and we'll deal with rulers, but not dictators." 

"Well said," agreed the Shrike. "You can expect the alliance of Moronon to be firm, as well." 

Hawkman-1 said, "Carter, Shiera, you're welcome to be our guests while this is going on. We'll send you back to your Earth afterwards, if you wish, with our compliments." 

Hawkgirl looked at her husband. "Well, what of it? Think we can spend a few more days here?" 

Hawkman-2 sighed. "We need a break from battle. All right, we'll stay. I just hope there's an Earth for us to go back to when we do." 

-S- 

You needed to get past a lot of safeguards to get into the palace of Darkseid on Apokolips. But mainly, what you needed to get past was a lot of guards. 

To the five who guarded one of the prime gates to the stronghold, the sight of Desaad was more of a surprise than it should have been. They thought he was spending his time inside with special projects, and they had no desire to learn more of those projects. Yet, here he was, with five others in cloaks. 

"We wish admission," said Desaad. "And we must not be delayed." He gave Sapient Surgo, the head guard of the First Gate for these past three years, a meaningful gaze. Surgo was sapient enough to catch the meaning of that look. It generally meant: I'm on Darkseid's business, and if you hold me up, expect to find your way to my Special Projects bin. 

Nonetheless, Surgo had to get proper ID on them. "Scan, please." He pointed towards an eye-scanner set into the right-hand wall. 

On second thought, forget about the scan.> 

"On second thought, forget about the scan," Surgo heard himself saying. 

The guards about him turned to regard him with gapes. "Surgo, what in the Pits are you saying? We have to ID everyone!", said Reggis, the oldest guy in the guard complement. 

This is Desaad! He's on the Master's business! And I've been given orders to pass him right through!> 

"This," said Surgo, carefully, "is Desaad." 

"Yeah, we can see that," said Trenc, another guard. "But just the same, Surg, don't you think you'd better–" 

"He's on the Master's business," Surgo continued. "And I've been given orders to pass him right through." 

There was silence for a second. Then Krend, the fourth of the guards, said, "Show us the orders, brother." 

A second after that, Krend had a change of mind. "Ah, forget it. I'll go along with Surgo on this. Don't want delaying Desaad on my record, either. Pass him through." 

"Are you serious?" Prento, the last of the group, spoke up, one hand on a blaster that could lay waste to half a block with one shot. 

Look, do you want to argue with Darkseid?> 

"Look, do you want to argue with Darkseid?" 

"At least let's check out the rest of these guys," said Trenc. "Don't you know that there's a war on?" 

Surgo, looking somewhat strained, said, "They go through. I've got orders. Anyone who disagrees, answers to me." 

"Begging the senior's pardon," said Prento. "But if we screw up, we're gonna answer to somebody a lot higher than you." 

That was the last thing he said before Surgo cracked the side of his gun against his face. Prento fell, howling and holding a broken nose. 

"You really feel like talking anymore? No? Anyone else? Put 'em through." 

Silently, the rest obeyed. A metal door irised open in the wall before them. Desaad and his party of five entered. There were guards on the other side as well, but they seemed satisfied after a second with a look from Desaad, and from one of Desaad's minions. 

Breathing heavily in his cloak, Snapper Carr tested out their mental hookup. Lucian, can you read me? Over.> 

You don't need the military jangle with me, Carr,> Mind-Grabber Kid sent back. I can hear you just fine.> 

Let's just hope Big Dark can't,> thought Mal Duncan. We're in a hell of a place for him to pull out a telepath on us.> 

We're in a hell of a place already,> answered Christopher Chance, in the robes and Desaad mask. If the real 'Desaad' turns up, be ready to scramble.> 

Scramble to where?> thought Ryan Chase, the Human Cannonball. If we get held up, I'll give 'em an old ram in the guts with the cannonball helmet. That's the best thing to do, believe it.> 

The best thing to do,> opined Bumblebee, is not to get caught. I doubt that headgear of yours will be much good against this bunch of bruisers, Ryan.> 

Don't insult my equipment!> 

Pipe down, all of you,> ordered Snapper. Just keep cool, cats. The Stranger showed us where in this pile of rock Tigra's being held. If we get her, we may be able to get Orion.> 

If they don't get us first,> thought the Kid. 

Think happy thoughts, Loosh,> Snapper answered. And am I ever glad you remember that bit with Obi-Wan and the Empire cops from Star Wars.> 

Only saw it 21 times,> said Crawley. But my mind-control has limits.> 

Don't reach them.> 

Don't snap your fingers, then.> 

You got it,> thought Snapper. 

While this conversation had been going on, the six of them had made it down two corridors. None of them really wanted to dwell upon what they were seeing, or the thought of what they were enmeshed in. All they wanted to do was get in, get Tigra, and get out. 

It was, Snapper thought, a lot nervier than just about anything he'd been in with the Justice League. 

Then, with a noise that penetrated the walls of the fortress, the sextet who had begun informally calling themselves the Losers' League heard a terrific BOOM. 

All of them stopped still for a moment. That lasted for as long as it took for a contingent of Darkseid's guards to swarm out of the doors around them, surround them for an instant, and then run past them towards the gate. 

What the hell does that mean?> asked Karen, frightenedly. 

It means we put the rush on it,> thought Snapper, as soon as these guys get gone.> 

-S- 

Outside the palace, in disguise, Superman, Dev-Em, and Highfather watched the proceedings. 

A Boom Tube had opened in the air above Darkseid's abode, and from its circular mouth came warriors familiar to all of them. Metron, Himon, Fastbak, Jezebelle, Bug, Stompa, Lashina, Bernadeth, and Mad Harriet. Metron was calling out something, probably words of encouragement, and the lot of them were quick to attack. But Darkseid's guards were just as quick, and soon, Gravi-Guards, Parademons, Dog Cavalry, and line troops were pouring from the gates. 

The New Gods and the forces of Apokolips had joined battle. 

"The fools," said Izaya, in surprise and anger. "I forbade them. I bade them guard our realm. The fools!" 

"Holy sun of Krypton," said Kal, under his breath. "That's it. We decide here and now. Fight, or spy." 

"There is no other decision for me," said Izaya. He stepped from the alleyway, tore off his robes, and, revealed, blasted away at the enemy with alpha bullets from his hands. 

"I'm going, Dev," said Superman, pulling off his robe. "What about you?" 

"I'm a spy, El," said Dev. "But I'm also a friend. Get me a way inside that pile, I'll come out with Orion. I hope." 

"I hope, too," said Kal. "Don't get yourself killed." 

"You, neither." 

"And if I run into Mongul, be listening for me. I may need help." 

"You've got it, El." 

Dev remained in hiding for a few moments after his worldsman left the alley, flying, with an "Up, up, and away!" 

He looked out with his X-ray vision, through the building walls. 

Pure unadulterated chaos. 

Good enough cover, he hoped. 

Dev-Em accelerated to invisibility status via super-speed and made his way into Darkseid's lair. 

To be continued...   



	24. Part 24:  Wildcats

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 24 

by DarkMark 

Two members of the Justice Society of America were not able to participate in the fight against Darkseid's legions. One was the Sandman, who had suffered a heart attack some years previously and now, as Wesley Dodds, stayed at home, attended by his aide Sandy Hawkins. Both of them watched what they could of the battle coverage on television. Sandy could have participated, but he chose to guard his guardian. 

Another one had been remanded to a nursing home. This was Wildcat, otherwise known as Ted Grant. He had been stricken by a lightning bolt which shattered his legs. Due to the nature of the injury, caused by the cosmic forces of the early Crisis, even Dr. Fate could do little to heal him. His legs were on the mend, but he was a long ways away from the point of being able to get around even on a walker. For him, there was only the wheelchair. 

And he had been, in his time, the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. 

There were two others with him in his room, both in costume, because he liked being reminded of his JSA past. One of them he had never met before today. This was the Wildcat of Earth-One, as old as himself. His history generally duplicated that of the Earth-Two Ted Grant, within limits. He had come out of retirement at times to fight beside Batman and, once, the Creeper, but age had taken its toll on him, too. 

But Batman had come to him a few days ago and asked him to go with the third person in the room to another world, where another Ted Grant needed cheering up after an accident. He agreed, due to friendship with Bats and curiosity about this other Wildcat. He also feared what he would have to see. But he had learned enough in the ring about hiding fear. 

The third party in the room was also a Wildcat, but she was a woman. Yolanda Montez was the Wildcat of Infinity, Inc., and her genes had been altered before birth by one Doctor Love to give her the catlike powers of agility, leaping power, and clawlike nails. She had seen the crippling of Ted Grant and, in his honor, became the second Wildcat of Earth-Two on that night. Now, in her all-black costume, a female version of the one the Earth-One Wildcat wore, she sat at Ted's bedside and waited for her chance to speak. 

"So you're still pluggin' away at that little gym, brother?" asked Ted of Earth-2. "Good for ya. Makin' a living?" 

"Yeah, kinda," said Wildcat of Earth-1. "Had to yuppify it to survive. You know, health-centered instead of just boxing. But we do boxing, Ted. We'll always do boxing." 

"You better," said old Ted with a gleam in his eye. "Unless you end up like this–" He pointed at his legs. "Or in the grave. Just leave the hero stuff to the young punks, okay? I stayed in too long, and this is what it got me." 

Yolanda stood and squeezed his hand. "You once saved the Society, Ted. You rescued them from the Psycho-Pirate. If you had not been there, who would have done that?" 

"Didn't say I wasn't useful, honey," said Ted. "Just that I stayed in the game too long. I knew when to get out of the ring, just like Ted here. Right?" 

"Yeah, I knew when to hang up the gloves," said Ted-1. "Until that crazy Batman got me to put 'em on again to take on a creep named Koslov, and I got back into the hero thing. But I never did it that steady afterward, just a few times here and there. Got enough money to reopen the gym, and that's what I did." 

"That's the way," said Ted-2. "Don't let the costume boys get you back in harness, Ted. That's for young men. Or men that got the Ian Karkull treatment. Hell." Ted's head lolled to the side on the bed. "Sometimes this hurts like somethin' I ain't gonna mention in front of a lady." 

"You can say anything you want to before me, Ted," said Yolanda, stroking his hair. "I have heard much worse in my neighborhood, before I was six." 

"Don't believe in such talk," said Ted. "Was raised in sticks, but...better." 

"I know it, Ted," said the other Wildcat, and grasped his hand. He felt the strength in it, felt the qualities only another boxer could detect. Yeah, this guy was definitely a contender back then. The Earth-One Wildcat wondered what it would have been like, to go up against this guy in his prime. Then he decided it was best not to know. 

The man in the bed looked up at his counterpart. "Tell me, kid. How'd you decide to become a Wildcat?" 

"Probably same as you. You had a Socker Smith, right?" 

"Right," said Ted Grant of Earth-2. "They doped him on your world, too?" 

"Yeah," said the Ted of Earth-1. "He died where you were, too, right? In the ring?" 

"Uh huh. Hadda clear myself. Kid told me about Green Lantern in a comic book. Gave me ideas. They used to call me a real wildcat when I worked out at Stillman's. So how'd you get the idea?" 

"A kid told me about Green Lantern in a comic book." 

Yolanda giggled. Ted-2 looked up at Ted-1. "Naw. Really! You couldn't'a had Green Lantern comics on your world. You didn't have no Green Lantern then!" 

"Yeah, but we had the comics," said Ted-1. "They were just, just comics. Some kid told me about the Lantern, and I said, 'Why not?'" 

"So you didn't have the Lantern, but you had the comics," said Ted-2. "Doesn't make sense." 

"Guess it doesn't, Ted," said Ted-1. "But, hell, we got a Lantern years later. That was after I retired. I was pushin' leather and fightin' crooks even before Superkid showed up." 

"Now you're makin' me feel better. Did you ever meet the kid?" 

"Superboy? Nah, he mainly stayed to himself, in Smallville." Ted-1 fidgeted. "Look, Ted, if, like, there's anything I can do..." 

"Like what? Get in a wheelchair and go seven rounds with me?" Ted-2 grinned, even though it seemed labored. "Skip it. It's...okay just havin' you around. Is it weird for you, too?" 

"Seein' you? Oh, yeah." Ted-1 smiled. "But I can deal with it." 

"Don't think we will ever forget you, or leave you alone for long, Ted," said Yolanda. "The Society will pay their visits after the battle we're fighting is finished. I'll come by, too, as often as I can. And I'll try to get Infinity to do the same." 

"That's all right, Yolanda," said Ted. "You just...keep outta trouble, okay?" 

She stroked Ted's forehead. "Would that I could. But I'll have to return to the battle very soon. It was hard for me to get permission to leave, as it was." 

"Understood," said Ted. "Don't get killed, kid. Things really got...ratcheted up...these last few years. More power bein' thrown around. Less of a place for...us." 

Yolanda nodded. "But that means there is more of a need for us. To represent the less-powerful man among the mighty ones. Wouldn't you agree?" 

"Maybe," he said. "Maybe there oughtta be a...you know...featherweight, 'n' welterweight, 'n' flyweight division for superguys, too. It'd make things easier. Nowadays they wanna throw the flyweights in with the Jack Dempsey super-villains. 'S how Larry Lance bought it, and Batman...and even Supes." 

Yolanda sensed that Ted was in some low-level pain, and thought about ringing for the nurse. But Ted had told her he didn't want to get addicted to pain-killers, so she decided to let him make that decision himself. "Yes, Ted," said Yolanda. "And the Canary, too." 

"Yeah," said Ted. "That was a rotten shame...when I found out. Beautiful, she was. You ever meet her?" 

"No. But I have met her daughter. She is also beautiful." 

"So 're you." 

Yolanda blushed. 

Ted looked seriously at her. "Tell me. Is Kara okay? Is she...bearin' up?" 

The woman Wildcat nodded. "She grieved. But she...she has done well. I told you of how she led the Society and Infinity against Badra and Mars." 

"Yeah. Regular little heller, she is." 

"I'll tell her you said that." Power Girl and Wildcat had been at odds during her early tenure in the JSA, thanks to Kara Zor-L's feminist outlook. But they had gotten used to each other's presence as teammates, and eventually became friends. 

"Could you...have her see me? I'd like that. She probably needs a, needs a friend. Right now, I mean." 

Ted of Earth-1 watched as Yolanda took his counterpart's head in both hands and placed a kiss on his forehead. "She has many friends, Ted. We try to be there for her, and for Lois. But I will see she comes to see you after the battle is done." 

"Thanks, Yo. Thanks. Tell her I'm thinkin' of her. I'll be here, if she needs help." 

There was silence for a second, and it was broken by a new voice. "'Cat. I'm awfully sorry...but I need help, too." 

Ted of Earth-1 knew that voice, and he was only a fraction of a second later than Yolanda in whirling to face the speaker. They immediately put themselves between her and the man in the bed. 

The woman was past her prime, but still showed the signs of having been a beauty in her time. She had black hair streaked with grey and wore a long coat, open at the front. It revealed a tiger bathing suit and boots, the uniform of a woman known to both Ted Grants and to Yolanda as well, who had heard of her and studied her JSA Enemies file. 

Paula Brooks, aka the Tigress, aka the original Huntress, aka the enemy of Wildcat of Earth-2. 

"Don't come a step closer," said the lady Wildcat, her claws bared and ready. 

"You his or you mine?" said Wildcat-1, in an very cold and threatening tone. His dukes were up. 

The Huntress looked tired. "His," she said. "I ain't here to fight. I'm here to ask for help. Please, 'Cat. You're the only ones I can talk to." 

"How'd you get in?" 

"You think security is that good? You ought to tighten it up." 

"We will," said Yolanda. "You had better be sincere in your request, Huntress. If I even think you're trying to hurt a crippled man...I might do things that would make me leave Infinity." 

"Let her talk, baby," said Wildcat-1. 

"I'm not gonna fight anymore," said the Huntress, plopping down wearily into a Formica chair. "Especially not the Cat. I got the hell knocked out of me just a few days ago. Those guys in the red suits...one of 'em just tapped me with his finger, and I was out of it. Got away, though, when we were bein' transferred. I need your help." 

"You've been saying that over and over again," said Yolanda. "What for?" 

"My husband's still in custody. Carl, y'know, the Sportsmaster. I need you to get him out." 

"Kid, if your Sportsmaster's anything like my Sportsmaster, the clink is just where he needs to be," affirmed Wildcat-1. 

"Let 'er talk, Ted," said Wildcat-2. "She's my old problem, after all. What's the matter, Paula? Super-villain stuff ain't payin' as well as it used to?" 

"It never did, 'Cat," said the Huntress. She stood up, started to go towards him, but the Wildcats blocked her way, so she stood still. "But he's still my guy, and I love him. Hell, I need him, and he needs me. We haven't got that long to spend together, anyway, and we both need to be out of the joint." 

"Why should we help you? Why not your super-villain friends?" asked Yolanda, tersely. 

"They're in stir," the Huntress answered. "They may get sprung, they may not. I don't know how things are going. Not with this Crisis thing. But if you help me...I can help you." 

"How?" 

She stepped closer to Yolanda. "I was in the satellite. The one they're usin' as a headquarters. I can lead you to Lex Luthor. Both of him." 

"Lex Luthor?" Wildcat-1 gaped. "That's way out of my weight class, honey." 

"Perhaps not out of mine," said Yolanda. "How do we know you speak the truth?" 

The Huntress fished a small box out of her coat pocket and showed it to them. "This. Every one of the units had one of these. It's a communicator. You can track it back to Luthor." 

"Why hasn't he helped you?" asked Wildcat-1. 

"I asked him to. I begged him to. But he said that he's up to his dome in operations right now, and he can't spare the forces to spring 'em right now. And I know he'd throw us back into the fight. And 'Cat...'Cat, I just don't want to fight anymore." She looked close to tears. 

Yolanda, despite herself, felt a bit of sympathy for the woman. But she said, "You could be leading us into a trap." 

"I could," she admitted. "You'll have to find out for yourselves. But it's no worse than if you'd found out on your own. Will you help me?" 

"We could just take that thing from you, and do it ourselves," said Yolanda. 

"You could," said the Huntress. "But if you do, you ain't what the guy in that bed is." 

The Wildcat of Earth-2 spoke up. "Let her through, gang. Just let her through." 

"Take off that coat," ordered Yolanda. The Huntress obeyed, dropping it back on the chair. The female Wildcat frisked her thoroughly, even running her clawed fingers through the villainess's hair. Then she took her by the arm, and held it while the Huntress stepped to Ted Grant's bedside. 

"'Cat," she said, "I never would'a wanted this to happen. To you, I mean." 

Ted Grant nodded. "I believe you." 

"Does it hurt?" 

"Oh, yeah." 

She sighed. "I still think you're better off than me." 

"Maybe so, baby. Call me Ted, okay?" 

"Yeah, Ted. Call me Paula." 

"Ever think of what it would'a been like if you'd stayed with the Young All-Stars?" 

"Lotsa times." She shrugged. "But I never would'a met Carl." 

Ted looked at Yolanda. "Yo," he said, "think you can give her a hand?"' 

"I don't trust her," said Yolanda. 

"I didn't ask you that," he said. 

Wildcat-1 spoke up. "Maybe I'm punchier 'n normal this mornin'," he said. "But Ted...I do." 

Yolanda paused. Then she said, "All I will do is contact Infinity, Inc. and see what can be done. We will not 'spring' anyone. I will see if they wish to speak to the authorities. And that is all I can promise." 

"But you'll promise that?" asked the Huntress. 

"Yes," said Yolanda, wondering if she had ever been such a fool before. 

Unexpectedly, the Huntress hugged her. Yolanda thrust her away immediately. The black-haired woman looked startled, then resigned. "All right," she said. "Guess I can't expect more than that." 

"I will tell the police of your presence," said Yolanda. "But I will also tell them what you have told me. We shall see." 

"That's all I ask," said the Huntress. 

Yolanda, still holding the Huntress's wrist, turned to Wildcat-1. "Come with me, Ted. I will take you back to the Transmatter Cube at the JSA building." 

"Well, heck, Yolanda, don't the cabbies know the way there? On this world, I mean?" 

She blinked at him. "Of course they do. But–" 

"And this temporary card you've given me, it'll get me in okay, won't it?" 

"Yes," she said. "But you're not safe here." 

He put his fists on his hips. "If I ain't safe here, then how safe is he?" He nodded his head towards the man in the bed. 

Yolanda sighed, then shook her head. "All right. But if you are attacked, it will probably be someone a lot stronger than any boxer." 

"Bring 'em on." Wildcat grinned and lifted his fists. It was bravado, but all three of the others, even the Huntress, loved to see it. The bedridden Ted Grant loved it most of all. 

"Come with me," said Yolanda, taking the Huntress with her. "And if we meet any of your partners on the way, much the worse for you." She allowed the Huntress to put her coat back on, then opened the door. Both of them left. 

Wildcat of Earth-One pulled the cord on the nurses' alarm. "Yes?" said a voice. 

"This is the friend of Mr. Grant," said Wildcat. "An unauthorized party just got in. My friend just took care of it. But this ain't acceptible." 

"We'll have somebody down there right away." 

"We want guards. Armed guards. At least two. No, at least three. Or I'm callin' the papers to tell 'em what kind of joint you're runnin' down here." 

A pause. "We'll see about it as soon as possible, sir." 

"NOW." 

"Yes, sir." 

The light winked out. Ted Grant of Earth-2 grinned. Ted-1 grinned back. He sat on the side of the bed. 

"We got time before they get here?" 

"Before that? Oh, yeah. Probably could fight a whole round before they'll get anybody here." 

"You ever fight Joe Louis, kid?" 

"Did I ever fight Joe Louis? Hell, yeah. The question is, did you ever fight Joe Louis? And how are you here to tell about it if you did?" 

"Well, you first." 

"Okay," said Wildcat. 

He'd almost run down all the first round action before the guards got there. 

-S- 

The quintet of heroes warped in over the Sears Tower in Chicago and distorted TV receptions for an instant. 

Supergirl, Superboy, Son of Vulcan, Harbinger, and Beautiful Dreamer dropped neatly to the building roof. 

"So this is Earth-One," said Kal, looking at the urban sprawl below. "And this is Chicago." 

"Haven't you ever been here?" asked Kara. "I mean, to your Chicago." 

"No," Superboy said. "Not yet. Dad blame, it's big." 

"Will we be safe here, Kara?" D'reema was concerned, it seemed, although Kara thought it also might be from standing on the roof of a building over 100 stories tall. 

"Not for long," Supergirl admitted. "I want to get you into safekeeping, although I'm not sure how safe anyplace in this world is right now. I also need to find out what's been going on here while we've been gone." 

"Truly as Carl Sandburg described it," said Son of Vulcan, reverently, standing near the roof's edge. "Hog Butcher of the world, stacker of wheat..." 

Harbinger was sitting cross-legged on the roof, her blonde hair blowing under her helmet in the breeze. Superboy noticed her. "Miss Lyla," he said. "Trouble?" 

"My other-self is far away from here, Superboy, and I need to reunite with her," said Harbinger. "It drains me to be split for so long." 

Kal nodded. "I can imagine." He put a hand on her shoulder. "If I can help, let me know what to do. I'm a rookie, but I'm learning." 

"Thank you," she said. She looked at him and remembered her days as a young girl of the 19th Century, before she met the Monitor. And in that, she felt empathic for what Superboy of Earth-Prime was going through. 

Then Superboy saw her close her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. "What's the matter?" 

"Hush, Kal-El," she said. After a few moments, she opened her eyes and smiled. "My sister-self is in the Monitor's satellite. She is coming here and we will reunite." 

"Glad to hear that," said Supergirl. "You've been looking a little peaked lately, if you don't mind me saying, Lyla." 

The Son of Vulcan stepped over to them. "We cannot bandy words all day, Supergirl. If there is battle on this world, tell me where to find it." 

Obligingly, Kara used her telescopic vision. First, she checked out the city, and saw to her disgust the damage created by the battle of Forgotten Heroes and Forgotten Villains, both long gone by now. Then she enlarged her scope and took in much of the rest of the country, and more besides. Kal noted her expression going grimmer. 

After about ten seconds, she said to the Son of Vulcan, "Take your pick. There's action all around. Fighting in Metropolis, in New York City, Gotham, Coast City, even overseas." 

"Many of those names are unknown to me," confessed the hero of Earth-4. "But I know of New York. Have you a conveyance?" 

"I could get my Mother Box to Boom Tube you there," said Dreema, pulling a small, flat object from her costume. "It's not as powerful as the one my family unit uses, but it'll work for you." 

"No way," said Supergirl. "If Darkseid's involved in those wars, I'm betting he could trace a Boom Tube back to you fast as a quark. My primary objective is to keep you safe." 

"But, Supergirl, don't they need us in the war?" 

Kara sighed. "Yes, Kal. But for us, D'reema is the war. Think of her as Albert Einstein during World War II. If the Nazis got hold of Einstein, what do you think would have happened?" 

"See what you mean," he said. 

At that, two figures began to materialize on the building roof. Son of Vulcan said, "Supergirl, what–" 

All of them stood at the ready and surrounded D'reema, but Supergirl quickly called out, "It's okay, crew. I know this guy." 

"And this other is my sister-self," said Harbinger. "We're safe." 

One of the newcomers was, indeed, Harbinger's split-self, and the other was a mysterious being Kara had met only twice, once in the far future. The Phantom Stranger. 

"Greetings to you all," said the Stranger. "Tala presses me greatly. I may only stay to warn you: Supergirl is needed on Apokolips. Superman and Izaya have already begun the fight." 

"Already?" Kara tensed. "That settles it. We'll find a place to take D'reema, one of you can guard her, and the rest of us will go to Apokolips." 

"No," said the second Harbinger. "I've been monitoring the situation from the satellite. Darkseid has not yet begun his assault on New Genesis. It's not yet the final battle. But the heroes of Earth are also hard-pressed." 

"I cannot stay for much longer," said the Stranger. "Make your decision, and make it now." 

Kara decided. "Okay. Stranger, if you can, take Son of Vulcan here to New York to help out there. Lyla, you need to merge your selves now, and teleport me to Apokolips. Then I want you to take Kal and D'reema and go to the Monitor's satellite. And Kal?" 

"Yes, Kara?" 

"I want you to guard D'reema. With your life." 

"You got it," said Superboy. 

"It shall be done," said the Stranger. He pointed a hand at the Son of Vulcan, who looked warily at the man with the shaded eyes. Then both of them vanished. 

"So this is how you get around here," noted D'reema. "Quite efficient." 

Superboy watched in amazement as the two Harbingers stood and touched hands. One of them shimmered, converted herself to energy-particles, and was quickly absorbed by the other. The Harbinger who remained looked fresher and more in charge than either of her predecessors. 

She stretched out her blue-clad arms to Supergirl. "Godspeed, Kara," she said, and sent pink energies from her hands towards the Girl of Steel. They covered her in a nimbus of power, which quickly faded. Supergirl was no longer there. 

Harbinger faced Superboy and Beautiful Dreamer. "There are others of us in the satellite," she said. "We will help guard D'reema. But I cannot believe we will be long unknown to Darkseid." 

"As the Source wills," said D'reema. 

"Beam us up, Scotty," said Kal, and winced at his own cliche. 

The pinkish aura surrounded Superboy, D'reema, and Harbinger herself, and then all three were gone. 

Shortly after that, TV reception in Chicago returned to normal. 

-S- 

On Adon, the Forever People had come to a decision. By the reckoning of the Magic Squad, it was darned well time they did. 

"We don't know where they've taken D'reema," said Mark Moonrider. "But without her to guard, like it or not...and I know none of us like it..." (With that, he favored Big Bear, Serifan, and Vykin with a glance.) "...we're back in the war. And this time, we have to finish it. It's either us, or Darkseid." 

"If he harms D'reema, I'll see Darkseid dead," vowed Vykin, bravely. 

"Be at peace, brother," said Big Bear, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. 

"Peace has been shut down for the duration," remarked Nightmaster. "Believe it." 

Rac Shade consulted with Amethyst and Jennifer Morgan, who were sitting facing each other in lotus fashion, their fingertips pressed to a Mother Box which was hovering between them. "Anything from that?" he asked. 

"No," said Amethyst. "Her Mother Box is deliberately damping its signals to keep anyone from tracking her." 

"It keeps Darkseid from finding her," remarked Jennifer. "But it also keeps her away from us." 

Mellu said, "Then what do we do next? We've been sitting around here too long to do any good. Where do we go, and when?" 

Serifan adjusted his cowboy hat. "We're going to New Genesis, ma'am." 

"And as for when," said Mark Moonrider, "it's right now." 

He took the Mother Box from Amethyst and Jennifer and led the party of heroes from the house into the front yard. Looking at the well-sculpted lawn and garden, he felt a twinge of nostalgia: all this showed D'reema's skilled hand. 

Source willing, they would find her. 

A group of Adonites were gathered round the home, just outside the stone fence, wondering what was to come next. Moonrider, the Box under one arm, spoke to them. "When we come back, you will know we have vanquished Darkseid. If we do not...remember us." 

There was nothing else to say, except what he said to Nightmaster and his band. "Make a circle around us, and make physical contact with us. Mother Box will do the rest." 

He allowed the Box to hover five feet above the ground. Against its four sides he and Big Bear, Serifan, and Vykin pressed their hands. Nightmaster, Shade, Mellu, Amethyst, and Jennifer Morgan gathered round and touched the Forever People's backs, some looking a bit uncomfortable. 

There was a loud BOOM. 

Some of the heroes gave a start. A large circle of energy appeared in the air, just over the grass-covered ground. 

Big Bear smiled. "Been a long time since we've seen one of those," he said. 

"Let's go," said Moonrider. 

He leaped into its maw first. Big Bear followed, with a howl of joy, like a paratrooper leaping from a plane. Serifan, holding onto his hat, was third, and Vykin sprinted after him. 

Rac Shade beckoned to the others. "Quickly," he said, and led the way, entering the glowing circle. Mellu, Nightmaster, Jennifer, and Amethyst followed. 

The Boom Tube quickly faded from sight. 

And the Adonites wondered if they would see any of them ever again. 

To be continued...   
  



	25. Part 25:  The Mongul Mission

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 25 

by DarkMark 

Superman took in the scene in an instant with his X-ray vision. He noted that either Darkseid hadn't thought of shielding his fortress with lead, or that he simply didn't care. 

Snapper Carr. Of all people, Snapper Carr was in Apokolips! With him, that Human Cannonball loser who had once hung out with Lois Lane, plus a host of other also-rans whom he hardly recognized. Plus one who appeared to be Desaad, but his super-vision revealed that he was only wearing a mask. 

And Orion. Great Rao. The condition he was in after the real Desaad's ministrations made Superman nauseous. Desaad and Darkseid were with him now. The master of Apokolips was bending over his son. Had he gotten the Anti-Life Equation yet, or just started? 

There were other targets, but he had to deal with those two first. Barely sparing a glance at the battle beginning to rage overhead, the Man of Steel entered the fortress of Darkseid, smashing through outer walls and inner ones, scattering Apokoliptic soldiers and flunkies wherever he went. None of them had time to register what was happening. One moment they had been standing, the next they were thrown around a room littered with rubble and containing at least one big hole. 

Snapper and his group heard the thooms of Superman's approach only an instant before they saw the wall to the side and in front of them rupture. Every one of them stopped dead in their tracks with surprise. "Supes!" Snapper cried out, and then put a hand to his mouth in remorse. 

"What in blazes are you doing here?" snapped Superman. He did not look like a man to be trifled with, at the moment. 

"Hey, Superman," said the Cannonball, pulling his hood a bit lower so his face could be seen. "Long time. Remember me, the Cannonball? Good ta see ya again." 

The Man of Tomorrow favored him with a tight glance but said nothing to him. To Snapper, he said, "I'm getting you all out of here. You have no business being here in the first place." 

Mal Duncan, for all his surprise, found himself bristling at that. "Oh, yes, we do! We're on a mission, and you're giving us away!" 

"I don't have time to argue," said Superman, taking Snapper in his hands. 

The phony Desaad grabbed one of Superman's wrists. "I beg to differ, Superman. As frightened as I am, as we all are, we're here on business. We were sent here by the Phantom Stranger to get a prisoner out, and that's just what we're going to do." 

"You're crazy!" 

"Maybe," Bumblebee found herself saying. "But that's what we're going to do." 

Superman,> telepathed Lucian Crawley. It's Mind-Grabber Kid. Remember me?> 

I do,> Superman irritably replied. And if you're here, I know this mission is a total botchup!> 

"We don't have time to talk," said Christopher Chance, in the mask of Desaad. "If you're here to help on the mission, welcome. If not, we've got to get out of here before we're compromised." 

The master of disguise saw an unsettling thing as soon as he said that. It was a look of pain and surprise on Superman's face, followed with his knees buckling and his clutching Chance's cloak. 

He heard Mal saying, "Oh, man. Oh, man..." as he turned his head to see what Mal was talking about. 

The Kryptonite Man was behind them, glowing and smiling like a cannibal at a fat man's feast. 

"Stand aside, you losers, and let me get to him," said the green-skinned villain. "I've been waiting to finish business with the Big S for over twenty years." 

Snapper tapped the Human Cannonball on the shoulder. The Cannonball flashed, for half an instant, on his entire superheroic career. A few capers with Lois Lane against mobsters, and once when he had carried a spear among a small army of super-heroes at the DNA Project. 

And he mentally said to hell with all of that, and activated his jetpack. It burned holes in his robe and set it afire. He didn't care. 

In the space of a second, he bent his helmeted head downward and smashed full-tilt into the Kryptonite Man, driving him back down the hallway, pinning him against the wall behind him, cracking it with the force of his thrust. The villain was gasping for breath. Ryan Chase shut off his jets, pulled his burning robe off, and threw it to the ground. Then he grabbed the Kryptonite Man by the tunic. 

"We're not losers, loser," he grated. "We're the Losers' League." 

With that, he smashed an uppercut to the K-Man's jaw. The villain's eyes glazed over and then shut. The Cannonball let him go and he dropped like a sack of wet washing, landing on the burning robe and snuffing it out. 

Mind-Grabber Kid had already grabbed the recovering Superman telekinetically, levitated him to a position parallel with that of the floor but three feet above it, and shot him down the hallway. He kept the impetus up, scooting him around corners and against Apokolips soldiers, until the Metropolis Marvel was safely out of K-Man's range. 

Snapper Carr grinned and slapped Lucian's palm. "You done good, kid. You too, Ryan." 

"We're compromised," said Chris Chance. 

"Don't I know it. Let's find this Tigra gal, fast." 

-S- 

Superman being who he is, there are very few things which can daunt him. A few can be found on Apokolips. He had a grudge against Darkseid for the latter's evildoing and for his inability to fully get his hands on the ruler of Apokolips hitherto, and he meant to have it out. 

Kal felt his powers and vitality renewing themselves as he got further from the Kryptonite Man. With an effort, he tore himself loose from the Mind-Grabber Kid's power and surged forward, flying on his own. He used his X-ray vision to check out the fortress before him, wary for more traps. Instead, he came upon a host of Justifiers, pelting down the hall, blasters out and, as they caught sight of him, triggered. Deadly energies cascaded harmlessly off his costume and body like a shower of rain. 

He smiled. "So this is where the entertainment starts," he said. 

"Blast him!" yelled the squad leader. "For Dark–" 

That was as far as he got before the blue-clad Kryptonian bowled him and his squad of six over, bounced them off the walls, pulled their weapons apart, stilled their signalling devices, and rendered them unconscious with carefully pulled punches, all within three seconds' time. It took that long only because he was being careful. 

"Hope you're still on the clock, guys," Superman threw back over his shoulder as he flew away. 

In the next few minutes, the Man of Steel smashed his way through doors, crashed through walls, liberated some prisoners, kayoed jailers, destroyed evil apparati, and, in general, raised hell throughout Darkseid's fortress. It was satisfying, but it wasn't nearly enough. 

He used his super-vision to scour the building again. Snapper and company were walking near danger again. But, an instant later, he saw the most horrifying sight he'd yet witnessed in this fortress: a chamber in which Darkseid bent over an agonized, wounded, even mutilated Orion, both of them silent, both of them alone. 

Someone let out a cry of anguish and rage that caused the very stone and metal walls to shake. It went on for a few instants before he realized that he was the source of it. 

Superman burst up through the ceiling of Darkseid's fortress, smashed through several floors, upset an untold number of Apokolips soldiers, battered his way laterally through an equivalent number of stories downward, and crashed through the roof of Desaad's work chamber like a javelin. 

Darkseid whirled, his eyes already agleam, and ran into a blow that slammed him against the wall. He fought for consciousness, won, and tried to focus his Omega Effect on the intruder. But it was too late. 

The contact had pained Superman somewhat. Darkseid, like Izaya, radiated a field of energy that was both protective and effective against Kryptonians, like a form of low-level magic. But he endured it. There was much more to be done. 

In a whirl of red, Superman snatched Orion from the bed of torture, encircled him with his cape, and soared upward, taking the impact of the ceilings with his shoulders and head. His super-hearing told him Orion was still breathing. That was one of the few positive signs, so far. 

He burst out into the open again. Above him, Metron and company were waging war against the forces of Apokolips. Superman whirled his head, sending a few pulses of well-aimed heat vision into the opposition. The flying warriors of Darkseid cried out in pain where he struck them, and fell easier prey to the New Genesites' blows. But there were so many of them to deal with, and getting Orion to safety was his first priority. 

Lightray was the first to catch sight of Superman's burden. "ORIIIIIONNNN!" he screamed, seeing the state of the man in Superman's arms. He zigzagged forward towards the flying men, dodging the Apokolips sky-patrollers on their flying foot-disks. He almost got there. 

But not before somebody got there first. 

Superman heard the BOOM behind him and almost reacted before a great force behind and above him slammed into his back, bearing him downward. He gasped in shock and pain, thrusting back and up with his flight power, but it was of no avail. He and Orion hit the turf outside Darkseid's fortress with a terrific splat, and a powerful arm was levering his head back as they landed. 

He didn't have to turn his head to know that it was Mongul. 

"You've made a lot of trouble, Kryptonian, for both Darkseid and me," the great yellow alien warlord grated. "After this, perhaps I can get back to conquest. Just hold still and die." 

Kal tensed his neck muscles, smashed an elbow back as hard as he could into Mongul's gut, heard his opponent grunt, but couldn't feel the grip lessening. The Arkymandrite was bending his neck backward at a terrible angle. It'd take him awhile, even with his strength. But Superman could only resist his power for so long. And Mongul's own strength was countering Kal's attempts to raise them into the air. 

He heard Orion's heart still fitfully beating, and wondered if either of them had much longer to live. 

Then a sound of whishing wind, a thump of impact, and a cry of pain from Mongul. The warlord's grip loosened, almost imperceptibly, but enough for Kal to thrust forward, dig his strong teeth into the villain's arm, and pull himself and Orion free. He sped a short distance, lay Orion on the ground as far from combat as possible, and sped back. For an instant, he wondered if Dev had come to aid him. 

Then he saw who was standing before the raging Mongul and one word escaped his lips: 

"Kara!" 

He wasn't in time to stop her from catching a punch which knocked her across the landscape. Mongul grinned. "Very good that the both of you are together. That gives me the opportunity to murder you in one session." 

Superman didn't trust himself to speak. He just plowed into Mongul like a freight train. 

A second later, Kara was at his side, and both of them joined the battle. 

-S- 

Metron usually avoided battle. He preferred the realms of science, of observation. Emotions were treacherous things, and they were at their highest pitch during wartime. 

But this time, there was no turning back from it. For years, he had carried a debt of guilt in his soul, dating back to the time when he had collaborated with Darkseid in order to gain control of the X-element to power his Mobius Chair. Metron had paid it back in part by giving young Scott Free the secret guidance he needed to break free of Granny Goodness's domination and to escape Apokolips. Yet, in him, there remained the knowledge that part of the chaos that had resulted between New Genesis and Apokolips was his fault. 

So he fought. 

Para-demons attacked the Mobius Chair in waves. His armament brought them down. He sat in his flying conveyance, as impassive as a Mr. Spock figure. But the rayblasts from his chair took a deadly toll in Darkseid's troops, and he didn't regret a single one of them. 

They would only fight until Orion could be liberated, and then they would all return home, he told himself. Those who survived, that is. But war against Darkseid was always a chancy matter. The cream of New Genesis was usually stronger than Apokolips's shock troops, but the elite of Darkseid were another matter. 

Below him, Bug struggled with the rank and file of Apokolips soldiers. His talents were more suited to fleeing and concealment than to battle. Still, his kicks were devastating, and, thus far, he had managed to avoid the deadly blasts of the soldiers' weapons. Jezebelle threw herself into battle, blasting away at the men of Darkseid with her fiery eyes, and cutting them down before her. 

Deadly combat. There could be no other way. 

Mad Harriet and the Female Furies were doing some of the most vicious fighting in the fray. The yellow-skinned harridan lashed out time and again with her spiked metal knuckles and many she struck did not rise again. Lashina's great whip, Bernadeth's thermoknife, and Stompa's great boots were destroying foe after foe. This was not a battle of super-heroes and super-villains from Earth. It was war, pure and simple. 

Himon. Where the hell was Himon? He was crucial to the operation. With his escape artistry and techno-skills, he was the one Metron had assigned to find Orion and bring him back for transport. He had been a collaborator of Metron's, he had taught Scott Free the skills he needed to become Mr. Miracle, and he was one of Metron's dearest friends. 

At that point, a new presence came to Metron's notice. Propelled by a flying belt, arms outstretched, his visage superimposed over an android's body, one of the elite of Darkseid was coming his way. 

"Welcome to Apokolips, Metron," said Doctor Bedlam. "I promise to get you out of here in as short a time as possible." 

The android's artificial arms grasped Metron even as he blasted it with rays of destruction. They tore up Bedlam's chest. The Apokoliptic grasped his throat and began to squeeze. Metron's hands went to Bedlam's, but did not have the strength to resist. 

In his mind's eye, he began to see the Black Racer descending. 

-S- 

Kara grasped one of Mongul's arms with both of her own and blasted away at his face with heat-vision while smashing kicks at her foe's gut. Kal was restraining Mongul's other arm and uncorking some of his best super-blows to Mongul's jaw, below the area Kara was burning. Both of them were showing some bruises, and hoped their enemy was feeling the same way. 

I do not want to be here, thought Kara. I am tired of having to save the universe once a month. But I don't have a choice. I'm one of the few beings with the power to do what I do...and, anyway, I owe this creep. 

With a cry of pain, Mongul threw both of them away. They impacted on the side of an adjacent building, picked themselves up, and were barely in time to right themselves before the Arkymandrite grabbed their necks in a hand apiece and smashed their heads together three times, roughly. Not even the Kryptonians could take that kind of impact without pain. 

But there were powers Krypts had that even Mongul lacked. 

Superman launched the three of them into the sky with his flight-power an instant before Supergirl kicked her own in. The trio of grappling figures smashed their way past a level of flying Apokolips warriors almost without notice, though the latter dropped groundwards on smoking foot-discs or battered wings. 

Mongul was still strangling them. 

Through a red haze, Supergirl remembered her first encounter with their enemy. Superman had asked her for help in dealing with Warworld, Mongul's planet-sized warship. The two of them had brought it down, but Kara had been knocked unconscious and sent into a realm the nature of which even Kal wouldn't reveal to her, when she awoke later in his arms. He was very grateful to have her there, though. 

Now, unless they triumphed over the monster who was crushing their necks, there would be no grateful awakening in store. 

I will not be destroyed by this thing, Kara told herself. I simply won't. I've survived the Anti-Monitor, Mongul, and Satan Girl, and I will damned well not give in to this yellow-faced idiot, no matter...how hard a grip...he's got on me... 

With a great effort, she bent her head forward, focused both her eyes on one spot on Mongul's great hand, and sent forth the most concentrated, tightly-focused heat-vision beam she had ever attempted. Both of her eyes were set on one spot, and the heat she was generating made the hottest laser seem as cool as an Antarctic wind by comparison. 

Evidently Kal had gotten the same idea, possibly by smelling the burning flesh on Mongul's hand, and was doing the same for the hand that held him. She noted his face was red with the pressure that he was enduring, and hoped that she wouldn't see him turning blue... 

Mongul had to be given credit. He withstood the pain for almost ten seconds. Then he screamed in anguish in the thinning air over Apokolips and released both of them. He tried to grasp Supergirl's leg as he fell, to keep himself aloft. Kara drew in as much of a breath as she could and brought her foot down hard in his face. 

Superman hurtled down at a tangent and smashed Mongul's jaw with both fists, following through and not doubling back until he was half a mile away, though it took less than a second for him. 

Mongul was still falling. 

Both Kal and Kara looked at the globe of Apokolips below them, with its huge fire-pits, and decided to drop him where it would do the most good. They glanced at each other and nodded. 

Kara hit Mongul in the back, caroming off him and guiding him to a certain trajectory. He howled in pain and rage. Superman shot downward, feet-first, and thudded into the top of Mongul's head, bouncing upward before the conqueror's flailing arms could grab him. He was headed in the right direction, but Kara couldn't resist one last sortie. 

With a scream of vengeance, the Girl of Steel flew at Mongul from the front, both fists outstretched. He tried to grasp her, tried to crush her, but just wasn't fast enough. She was speeding at him full-tilt, her face set in a mask of grimness. But there was the suggestion of a smile, as well. 

She hit him as hard as she could in both eyes. 

Mongul screamed in agony, covering his face with both hands, pinwheeling downward like a shot-up plane from a World War I battle. Superman and Supergirl guided his descent with puffs of super-breath. Three times, they cleared away para-demons and flying troops from his line of fall. It didn't take long, in the end, but it certainly seemed to at the time. 

Mongul, hands still covering his injured eyes, fell right into one of the great fire-pits. 

A geyser of thermonuclear material spurted upward from his impact. Both Superman and Supergirl judged that he wouldn't be destroyed by it, any more than they would, but it wasn't apt to do him any good. It would also take him a hell of a long time to climb out of there, if he could manage it. For the rest of the battle, Mongul was effectively hors de combat. 

An idea came to Kara while they looked at the pit from on high. She looked at her cousin. "Kal," she said, "think we could manage to shut this place down?" 

He looked back at her. "It'd be risky," he said. "No way of knowing what kind of safeguards Darkseid has over them." 

"Isn't that what we've got super-vision for?" 

"Yes. But we'd better stay together on this. All right?" 

"Lead the way." 

The two blue-and-red-clad figures soared away, ignoring the blasts from Darkseid's air patrols, until they were over another one of the great pits which supplied Apokolips's power. One of the ground-based guards saw two streaks descending at great speed and opened his communicator with trembling hands. 

"Attack," he managed to say. "We're under attack!" 

That was all he could say before the two Kryptonians plunged into the seething depths and got to work. 

-S- 

There had been relatively few guards before the chamber Snapper Carr's band was headed for, and that was fine by them. Most had been drawn to the battle outside. The bad guys weren't pushovers, but the abilities of Mind-Grabber Kid and the Cannonball were able to turn the tide. Snapper, Chris, Mal, and Karen had picked up some of the other guards' hand-weapons as well, and, after figuring out the stun-level setting, weren't loath to use them. 

So now, after clearing away the unconscious bodies, the six of them stood before a metal door that looked about as easy to breach as that of a bank safe. Beyond it, according to the Stranger's instructions, was the woman they had come to liberate. 

"How do we get in?" asked Lucian, reasonably. 

"I'm not sure," admitted Snapper. "Anyone here have great safe-cracking skills?" 

Christopher Chance, still costumed as Desaad, stepped up. "I'll give it a try. But I'm not familiar with the sort of lock on this door." 

"Improvise," Snapper suggested. "But fast." 

Chance bent to the door, the other five facing outward to cover him. He worked silently, feverishly. Snapper looked at the others, and gave himself over to wonder, for a moment. The lot of them were scarcely better than civilians. Ryan Chase was obviously trying to hold back fear, and doing a good job of it. Even Mal and Bumblebee looked as though they knew how much they were in over their heads. 

Yet, for all that, the six of them had made a sortie into the halls of Darkseid. They had faced down opposition, even saved Superman at one point. 

Altogether, Snapper decided that the Losers' League hadn't done half-bad, up to that point. 

Christopher Chance cried out. "What's the problem, Chris?" asked Snapper. 

The master of disguise shook his hand. "Bit of an electric jolt, I think. Its obvious our host doesn't want people tampering with his doors. But I'll give it a go again." He grasped part of his robe and placed it over the lock, using it as a guard for his fingers, then began again. Snapper began to have hope that they might manage to pull this off, after all. 

"Look," said Karen Beecher, in a low voice, pointing. 

She was pointing at a shadow. 

It was huge, cast by a being just around the bend of these damnably crooked halls. The light source beyond showed that the caster of the shadow was carrying some sort of long, clublike weapon. The thing wasn't moving fast, but it didn't have to be, given its probable power. 

"Oh, boy," muttered Snapper. "Battle stations, group. Kid, give us a readout." 

Mind-Grabber Kid put two fingers to his helmet and closed his eyes in concentration. "One of Darkseid's warriors, I'm picking up. No. It's one of Darkseid's sons. His name is..." 

It came into full view. 

The being who faced them looked like a caveman from hell. His black hair was shaggy and of shoulder-length, his stature barely allowed him to walk in the hall without ducking. He was half-naked, save for a loincloth and boots, and he looked to be twice the size of a normal Earth human. In one hand he carried a club of strange crystal, which appeared to have control studs on one side. He was facing them, and he was snarling, exposing a mouth of great fangs. 

"I am Kalibak," he roared. "You may call me death." 

"Hit him!" Snapper ordered. 

The Human Cannonball didn't have to be told twice. He triggered his jets, lowered his head, and smashed into Kalibak's labonza. It knocked the son of Darkseid into a sitting position. Mind-Grabber Kid struck him with a full mental assault. As soon as Ryan rolled free, Snapper, Mal, Karen, and Chris blasted him with their hand-weapons. 

For an instant, it looked as though they might be getting somewhere. 

Then Kalibak stood, roared again, and pointed his club at them. A blast of power came from its end, bowling over all six of them. He stepped forward, before any of them could recover, and raised his club. 

"I should be crushing Izaya's fellow maggots," he grumbled. "Instead, all I have is the likes of you. Most aggravating." The great club descended, and, paralyzed with shock, Snapper saw it was coming towards him. 

Then a hand grasped Kalibak's from behind, and stayed its motion. "Don't worry, mate," said a new voice. "You've got the likes of me, too." 

Kalibak roared again with surprise and frustration. He tried to free his arm, but couldn't manage it. Wheeling around, he caught a glimpse of the new opposition. "Before you die, tell me your name!" 

The man, dressed in the robes of an Apokolips citizen, was very cool about it. "Don't worry. I'll just leave you a card." With that, his other fist shot out. Kalibak wasn't expecting much from him. 

His head rocked back as far as possible without his neck breaking and, an instant after seeing flashes of black and white, Kalibak slumped to the floor. 

The newcomer let him go and faced the others. "You all right?" he asked, pulling Snapper to his feet. 

"Yeah, think so," he said. "Who are you?" 

"Just a guy on some spy business," said Dev-Em. "What are you doing here, anyway? The same thing?" 

Bumblebee had managed to pull herself up against a wall. "We're trying to free the woman they're holding in that chamber," she said, pointing at the door. "She's the mother of Orion, or so we've been told." 

"Oh. Okay," said Dev. "Let me give you a hand." 

With that, he reached out, buried his fingers in the metal of the door, and wrenched it off its hinges. As he set it aside, the members of the Losers' League gaped at both the feat and the sight of the woman inside. She gazed back at them with amazement. 

She was at least a generation older than them in appearance, had red hair shot through with white, and looked somewhat like the warrior of Apokolips she had been in years past. But the sorrow she had experienced between then and the present showed on her face, as well. She looked out at them with unbelief. 

"Who are you?" she asked. 

Mind-Grabber Kid stepped up. "Are you Tigra, ma'am?" 

"I am," she admitted. 

Snapper said, "Then we've come to get you out. Please, come with us." 

-S- 

Darkseid stood near a wrecked portion of his fortress and looked on the battle with disdain. So the fools had come to his homeworld. Very well, let them waste their power on his lesser forces before he threw his specialists into the war. This would disrupt his progress in negligible ways. The main objective had been achieved. All that was left was the sifting of information, to find what he required. It was already in his grasp. 

He strode forward, towards the motionless body of Orion where Superman had dropped it. 

But he cursed himself for not perceiving the figure who dropped from the skies to stand before him, before the latter was in sight. 

A familiar, white-bearded, robed, staff-bearing adversary stood before him, over Orion's body. He held the staff before him in an aggressive manner, and even Darkseid halted as he did so. 

"Not a step further, Darkseid," warned Izaya. 

After a pause, Darkseid said, "Welcome back, Izaya. So you wish another taste of the power which felled you, not so long ago?" 

Izaya's eyes blazed. "In that battle, evil one, I did not use my power against you. I was Highfather, lord of peace. Today I stand before you as Izaya, the warrior, and the true father of this man at my feet. You shall allow us passage, or today you shall know death." 

Darkseid reached out and grasped Izaya's staff with both hands. "One of us will, anyway. Prepare to greet your wife Avia. In hell." 

The battle began. 

To be continued...   
  



	26. Part 26:  Death on Apokolips

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 26 

by DarkMark 

Thanks to interdimensional transportation, a lot of heroes and villains found themselves on Earths not their own, teamed with others from similarly foreign worlds. The unions worked out to varying degrees, but many of them found themselves separate from their usual working partners. 

Such was the case for the Batman Families of Earths One and Two. Batman and the Outsiders worked on Earth-One, trying to hold the line against Mantis and the super-villains under his command. The Bat-Squad, formed mostly of secondary Family members from the two Earths, fought on Earth-Two against a crew of villains from several Earths. Nightwing was in action with the Titans, which left the young Robin of Earth-One, the older Robin of Earth-Two, the Huntress, Batgirl, Batwoman of Earth-Two, Flamebird, Man-Bat, the King of the Cats, and a lesser-known Earth-Two hero called Blackwing, an ally of the Huntress's, to do battle. 

Their foemen included the Jokers of Earths One and Two, the Two-Face, Riddler, Penguin, Killer Moth, and Baron Tyme of Earth-One, Lionmane and Nightingale of Earth-Two, and the long-unseen triumvirate of villainesses, Silken Spider, Tiger Moth, and Dragon Fly, all of them contemporaries of Poison Ivy who had finally been nettled into activity once again. 

All of them fought it out on the streets of a Gotham City whose citizens were used to superhero battle, thanks to the long tenures of the late Batman, the Green Lantern, and the Justice Society. But they had a tough time placing some of the combatants, and the general consensus was that the unfamiliar heroes were Batman wannabes. 

As it was, the forces of the Bat had done well. Batgirl, the Huntress, and Flamebird had taken the trio of villainesses in a hard-fought battle and subdued them. Lionmane was tough, but not beyond the power of Man-Bat, who dragged him sixty feet in the air and then dropped him onto the pavement like a rock. It didn't kill him, but he was out of the fight after that. The Riddler's gimmicked question-gun failed to take out Blackwing. Two-Face was a tough combatant, but Robin of Earth-Two managed to put him out for the count. Robin of Earth-One avoided the Penguin's deadly umbrella darts and kayoed him with a Batarang. Killer Moth, for all his mechanical might, was embarrassed that the weaponry of the old crusaders, Batwoman and the Cat King, had bound and immobilized him. That left three villains to deal with. But they were the deadliest by far. 

And Baron Tyme, the sorceror foe of Man-Bat, spoke a single spell and bound the lot of them in a glowing web. 

The Joker of Earth-One grinned even more widely. "Splendid show, Tymely. Now, if you'll back off a moment, I've got a venom-bomb here that'll cut the Bat-quota from nine to zero in ten seconds." 

The Earth-Two Joker, missing a tooth on his left upper side, took umbrage. "Listen here, you...Milton Berle gag-thief! I've been on this stage for over forty years now, and I missed my chance to take out the Big Bat himself. I've got senority! Stand back, and hand over that bomb!" 

"In a bat's eye!" sneered the younger Joker. "The world belongs to the young and vigorous, old man. This is my bomb, and my moment. Most of the idiots downstairs come from my Earth. First rights to me!" 

Robin of Earth-Two called up, "You wouldn't consider letting us in on the debate, would you?" 

"Shut up!" both Jokers chorused. 

"Keep 'em talking," advised the Huntress. "If we can pitch a gas-bomb of our own through this weird netting, maybe we can manage a win." 

Batgirl was passing out rebreathers and gas masks from her utility belt to those who didn't have them. "Don't know if these'll be proof against Joker-gas, but it's not like we had a big choice." 

Blackwing took the offered mask and said, "It's good to have worked with you, Batgirl. Even if it may be our last case." 

"Don't talk like that," said the Earth-One Robin. "Batman says never to give up until thirty minutes after you're dead. And we aren't dead yet." 

"That's just what my dad would have said," allowed the Huntress. "But I don't know if the Green Hair Twins will give us enough time..." 

Baron Tyme said, "This is ridiculous. The longer you argue, the more opportunity you give them to escape. And if there's one thing the Bats are good at, it's escape. Make a choice and do it, or I'll destroy them myself!" 

"You wouldn't!" gasped Old Joker. 

"Try me." 

The two Jokers looked at each other. "Well, old man," said Young Joker, "it won't be the first time comedians have had to team up." 

"Then you'll play the straight man." 

"In your dreams." 

The Earth-One Joker held out his hand with the round gas-bomb with a Joker-face painted on it. Old Joker took the hand, and both of them raised the bomb high. "On the count of three," said Young Joker. "One, two..." 

"Three," said a deep voice, as a black lasso swung down from above, encircled their wrists, and tightened, pulling the Jokers' arms up with the bomb still grasped in their hands. 

Baron Tyme looked up, saw a figure in shadow, and prepared to loose a powerbolt of mystic force at him. He was a bit late. The interloper leaped down to the building ledge, blue-black cape billowing behind him, and sent a powerful left to his chin that knocked him one story down to the ground. Tyme kissed pavement and went unconscious. As his senses faded, so did the magical net holding the Bat-Squad. 

"Who in blue blazes is that?" exclaimed Man-Bat, limbering his wings. 

"It's..." began Flamebird. "But I thought he was on Earth-One." 

Batwoman squinted at the caped figure on the ledge. "That isn't your Batman, Flamebird. He looks more like...no. No, it can't be!" 

"My God," said the Cat King. "I know what you're saying...but I can't believe it, either!" 

The twin Jokers raged and tried to strike as the masked hero took the Joker-bomb from their trapped hands and stashed it in a cape pouch. "YOU again!" snarled Old Joker. "Can't you leave things well enough alone, for once?" 

The hero jammed a forearm against his enemy's throat and shoved his face close to his foe's. "Joker," he said, "shut up." 

The other Joker fumbled in his pocket and tried to slash the masked man with an envenomed knife. Without looking at him, the hero grabbed his wrist, exerted terrific pressure, made the Joker cry out, and made him drop the knife. Then he took both of their heads in his hands and, smiling grimly, bashed them together. The old Joker went out immediately. The young one needed a punch in the face to finish the job. 

The masked man crouched and leapt down to the sidewalk and faced the heroes and fallen villains. The wind swept the cape away from his chest. The nine members of the Bat-Squad could all see the bat-emblem on his shirt. 

It wasn't in a yellow circle. 

"Good Lord," said old Robin, paralyzed by what he saw. "It...it just can't be..." 

"DAD!" 

The Huntress, tears seeping out under her eye-mask, ran to the Batman and hugged him, unable to speak. He stiffened, in embarrassment. "Oh, Dad," she finally managed to get out. "Dad..." 

"Are you...the Huntress?" he said, at last. 

Abruptly, she stiffened and thrust herself away from him, in amazement. "Your voice," she said. "It's not my father's." 

"No," said the Batman, with some sadness. "I'm not your father, Huntress. But I knew him. Before you were born." 

"Who the devil are you?" 

The other Squadders were coming closer. The Batman motioned towards old Robin. "If that's Robin," he said, "he knows." 

Young Robin turned to his adult counterpart. "What in blazes is this, big guy? I thought the Batman of this Earth was..." 

"He is," said old Robin. "Hold on, youngster. And you...Batman...stay put for a moment." He stepped closer. 

Batman said quietly, "Don't you remember me, Robin? Of all here, don't you still remember me?" 

"Somebody better give me a program," said Man-Bat. "I didn't bargain on walking into an episode of Twilight Zone." 

"Manny, can it," snapped Flamebird. 

Robin's memory was almost as great as that of his late mentor's. True, the man's lower face looked quite a lot like Bruce's. But there were subtle differences. And the voice, yes, it was pitched a bit differently. His height, too...he was a full inch taller than Bruce had been. 

In a flash, it came to him. And even after having not seen him in thirty years, the thrill of recognition overwhelmed him for a moment. 

"Brane Taylor?" 

The Batman, after a short pause, smiled. "So you do recognize me. That's good, Robin." 

Old Robin grabbed him by both shoulders. "Brane...it's great. I never thought I'd see you again. And brother, am I ever glad I did." 

"Brane Taylor?" The Huntress's face showed her curiosity. "My...my father told me something about a man with that name. He said he was the Batman of the future. Are you...?" 

"The Batman of the 31st Century, to be exact," said Batman. "I could not come back to stave off his death. It was history. I am sorry." He paused. "But we have some records of the great battle of this era. I could not keep away from it. I hope you'll forgive me, Huntress...I always wanted to meet you, of all people." 

After a pause, the Batman's daughter reached out her hand. The Batman took it. Slightly, Helena smiled. "Thanks for your help," she said. 

"My pleasure," smiled the future Batman. 

Batgirl spoke up. "Speaking for the rest, I'd like to thank you for saving us. But I don't know as much about your history as these two appear to. How's about letting us know who you are?" 

"You mean this isn't the ghost of the old Batman?" asked young Robin. 

"Not hardly, kid," said Blackwing. "Go ahead and give, Mr. Taylor." 

"Well, if you're certain the opposition can't hear, I'll speak," said Batman. The nine heroes gathered closer around him for confidentiality, and he began. 

"It's a fairly simple story," he admitted. "Even in the year 3065, we have crime. But we also had the example of heroes of the past who fought crime. One of the greatest, of course, was Batman I...the Batman of your era. Many films, videotapes, written and photographic records of his career still survive, a millenium hence. They were preserved. We know of many heroes, the All-Star Squadron, the Justice Society, the Seven Soldiers, Infinity, Inc....but my personal hero was always Batman." 

"Good choice," opined the Cat King. 

"I run a fleet of cargo ships in transpace," said Taylor. "We were hit by a run of piracy, and the pirates seemed to be operating on inside information. The detectives I hired couldn't turn up enough information. I was wondering what else could be done, and, while I was watching a video document of the 'Your Life Story' appearance...you know, the one in which Batman was invited to a review of his career, and the Joker here crashed it...I found my answer. If a Batman could solve crimes during the 20th century, another one could do the same in the 30th. 

"So I became the Batman, or at least a Batman, and tracked down the inside man in our operations. After that, the authorities were able to bring the pirates to bay. But...well, there seemed a lot more work that a Batman could do in my time. And I decided to do it. 

"My weapons are far advanced beyond the ones he used, of course. They had to be. Before long, my nephew Richard found out my secret, and I hit upon the idea of training him as my Robin." 

"Holy crow," said Robin of Earth-One. "You mean there's one of us in your time, too?" 

"Sure is," said old Robin. "I've met him. Go on, Brane." 

"Richie and I were fighting a pirate named Yerxa," said Taylor. "Rich broke his leg at the outset, and I needed an assistant. That was when I hit on the idea of going back to the 20th, and seeing if the original Robin would be amenable to working with me. You do remember that, don't you, Dick?" 

"Definitely," said old Robin. "Kind of hard to forget a big time-sphere materializing out of nowhere in the Batcave, and another guy in a Batman costume stepping out of it." 

The future Batman smiled. "Both of us had to go to a planetoid called Vulcan, pose as criminals, join an outfit called the Lost Legion, and stop Yerxa from smuggling vulcanite. But we did it. Yerxa had managed to learn my true identity, though, and Robin here had to go back in time and bring his Batman to the future to convince the public that Brane Taylor and Batman were two different people." 

"My father," said the Huntress. "I still can't believe all the things he was involved in, after all this time." 

"And I remember the next time we met," said Robin of Earth-Two. "That was after Bruce had injured his arm, and couldn't operate as Batman without giving away his identity that way. Brane here had left a communications device with us, in case we ever needed him. I called him in to sub for Bruce on that case, and we took down a guy named, um, Martin Vair together." 

"Yes, despite the fact that I couldn't get used to not being able to use my equipment in your era," smiled the Batman. "Sometimes I think I got through that case on dumb luck." 

"No," said Robin. "You were a little out of your time, but you were still a Batman. And you came through with stars, just when we needed you." 

"Thanks, Robin. I just regret that I..." He looked at Helena, and sighed. "But there are some things we cannot change." 

"It wasn't your fault," said the Huntress, quietly. "It wasn't you who caused my father's death." 

"But it was all I could do to keep from warning him about it, both times," said Brane. "That was why I didn't come back to your time any more than I did." 

Robin of Earth-One stepped up and offered Brane his hand. "Speaking for us Earth-Oners, welcome to the Bat-Squad. Will you be staying long, I hope?" 

Brane Taylor looked out at Gotham City, which was showing some of the ravages of battle, and contemplated his answer. 

"For as long as it takes, young Robin," he said. "For as long as it takes." 

-S- 

Metron's vision was blurring, even as his throat gave way to the grip of Dr. Bedlam. He vowed not to give way. He vowed not to be defeated, to be murdered by this android pawn of Darkseid. Half of its chest had been blasted away by the armament of his Mobius Chair. But the head, shoulders, and arms still remained. And while the head remained, the consciousness of Bedlam still animated it. 

And it was still crushing his throat. 

The new god tried to pull the animate's hands from his neck, but Bedlam's automaton was stronger. The features that overlay the blank face of the android smiled in sadistic triumph. Metron cursed, internally. Would this be the last face he saw before the Racer's? It could not be...it could not be... 

It was going to be. 

And then, the expression on Bedlam's face shifted. It became one of surprise. It should have been agony, given the fact that his entire head was melting. 

But, after all, the body he wore was just that of an android. 

The grip on Metron's throat slackened, and the New Genesite thrust his opponent back, throwing him off the chair. Before Bedlam's body could hit the ground, Metron triggered a switch on his chair arm. A seeker missle emerged from the underside of the Mobius Chair, struck the falling android, and blasted it to bits. 

Drawing in a painful breath, Metron looked towards the ground, in the direction from which the beam had come that had melted Bedlam's head. The woman who had provided it was in battle, but still managed to wave up towards him before unleashing another burst towards her foes. Jezebelle of the Fiery Eyes. 

In response, Metron sent his chair on a strafing run, buzzed the Apokolips guards besetting her and Bug, and sent them packing with raybursts. "Flee, spawn of Darkseid!" he cried, in a voice a bit hoarse from the choking. "The day of reckoning and recompense has come. The day Metron's debt is repaid is here!" 

"Hey, thanks," said Bug, dispatching one last enemy with a roundhouse kick. "Glad to be of service." 

Jezebelle paused, and almost toppled from exhaustion. Bug caught her, even as Metron landed his chair near them. "Is she injured?" he asked. 

"Just wasted, I think," said Bug. "Jezzy, talk to me. Are you okay?" 

The blue-skinned beauty panted. "I'm fine, Bug. Just...give me a moment. This fight has taken a lot out of me." 

Metron nodded. "And most grateful am I for that part which saved me from death. My greatest thanks, Jezebelle." 

"You're welcome, Metron," she said, leaning on Bug to get her wind back. "Outside of Bug here, there's nobody I'd rather do it for. What about Orion?" 

"Last I saw, he was in front of the west wall," said Forager. "Superman dropped him there." 

Metron said, "Climb aboard my chair, the both of you. We will see to his rescue." 

Jezebelle and Bug clambered onto the arms of Metron's conveyance. It rose into the air on a stream of undefined propellant particles and carried them high above the fortress of Darkseid. An enterprising Para-demon flitted towards them, wings spread and weapon at the ready. 

Metron blasted it out of the skies with a particle beam and, afterward, the other para-demons gave them a sufficiently wide berth. 

A second later, Bug pointed downward. "There," he said. "But, by the Source! Look!" 

The three of them beheld a sight which had almost caused combat to come to a standstill in the immediate vicinity. 

Straddling Orion's prone form on the ground, Highfather and Darkseid faced each other, each of their hands firmly grasping Izaya's staff. Both of them glowed with power, the dark-bright aura surrounding them building in intensity until it hurt the trio to look at it with the unshielded eye. 

Then, with a sudden roar of power, the lords of New Genesis and Apokolips soared from the ground and shot into the skies, both still holding the staff, both exerting their terrible powers against each other. 

They were quickly lost to sight. 

Jezebelle blinked. "What...what can we do?" 

Slowly, Metron said, "For them, nothing. For Orion, as much as is possible. Let us descend." 

But as they did, the three of them beheld a squadron of Apokolips soldiers emerging to surround the prone body of the son of Darkseid. The five newcomers moved slowly, but were able to make formation before Metron and his allies could arrive. 

All five of them were massive, red-colored, and threatening. 

Gravi-Guards. 

Darkseid's elite troops, who could concentrate gravity in their vicinity to the point of even overpowering Superman. In an earlier encounter, Metron recalled, it had taken the Infinity Man to defeat them. And the Infinity Man was long gone. 

The foremost among them raised a fist and sneered. 

"Come and take him," he said. 

-S- 

On Earth-One, Paradise Island was under siege. 

Communication between the Amazons on Earths One and Two wasn't as frequent as it possibly should have been, but Queen Hippolyte had been alerted by her Earth-Two sister-self as to the assault they had recently suffered from Badra and her Kryptonian cohorts in Mars's service, plus the disappearance of their enemies from Transformation Island. Now Hippolyte, Mala, Paula, and all the other Amazons knew where those villainesses had gone. They had come here. 

A host of Valkyries had come from the Earth-Two universe as backing troops. They had clashed with the Amazons of that Earth more than once during the Forties, and had not forgotten their enmity. Apparently Darkseid's reach was long enough to find them. He had persuaded them to attack the Earth-One Amazons first, and to save their traditional Earth-Two foes for later. 

The Valkyries were abetted by many of Wonder Woman's female foes from this Earth, and by the enemies of her counterpart from Earth-Two. The two Cheetahs, Priscilla Rich from Earth-Two and Deborah Domaine from Earth-One, had met for the first time and were collaborating, not without friction. From Earth-One came the likes of the Mask, Giganta, the Silver Swan, Dr. Cyber, Morgana, Inventa, Torcha, Panthea, Astarte, and Circe, the ancient sorceress. From Earth-Two there hailed Queen Clea, Eviless, Lya, Zara, and Hypnota. 

The only thing Hippolyta could find to be glad of was that none of the enemy were male. No matter what happened, they'd preserve Aphrodite's Law. 

Even if they died. 

The Amazons stood in battle armor, facing a ring of hovering Valkyries. Mala brandished her sword, standing next to Hippolyte. "News, Mala?" asked the blonde Amazon matriarch. 

"Nothing yet, O queen," admitted Mala, showing a bit of stress. "I fear Princess Diana still battles the hordes of Apokolips in America. We have had no response from our mental radio messages to our sister Earth. As for the mortal Amazons, our communications links are down." 

"Then we stand alone," said Hippolyta, shifting her great golden shield on her arm. 

"Perhaps," allowed Mala. Some Amazons had fallen to wounding. No fatalaties had occurred, so far. But both of them sensed that, with the next charge, the Valkyries would be out for blood indeed. 

"We will give good account of ourselves, Sister Mala," promised Hippolyta. "Gerda and her armored bitches will not pass this sunset unscathed." 

"Then you authorize deadly combat?" 

"If we must," said Hippolyta. "I can see no other way." 

Mala gave a signal to a flag girl nearby. The Amazon ran up a black flag and displayed it prominently. All the assemblage knew what it meant: fight to the death, and sell your lives dearly.   
So this, thought Hippolyte, was how it ended. After all those millenia of staying apart from Man's World...but was that such a wise course, after all? For if they had made alliances, the Amazons might not stand alone in their time of need...the champions of Aphrodite faced the hordes of an alien god. Women like themselves, but dedicated to destruction. 

Riding a flying horse, Gerda, queen of the Valkyries, lifted a golden megaphone to her mouth. "Will you yield, Hippolyta? Or shall we charge?" 

The Amazon queen opened her mouth. The next words she would say would signal the final bloodletting. The women who stood beside her would be hard-pressed. Victory might not be beyond grasp, but it was unlikely. And it was certain that some of her sisterhood would die. 

Then, a noise. No, two noises compounded. Both of them somewhat similar. 

"My queen," said Mala. 

"Be still, Mala," directed Hippolyta. 

Even Gerda and her coterie were surprised. The noise was coming from behind them. It seemed to be the sound of two great jet engines, coming near at devastating speed. Yet, as the Valkyries and villainesses turned, they could see nothing. 

That is, until they saw the glint of the sun off the transparent hulls of two planes, and the women who piloted them, clad in red, white, and blue. 

But they were only the advance guard. Behind them a great warp in space was torn, and through it streamed a host of armored women, of two armies. Hippolyta recognized them at once, and her heart leaped at the sight of them. 

The most numerous were the Amazons of Earth-Two, the mighty sisterhood who had produced the earlier Wonder Woman of their world. Leading them, in full armor, was the black-haired Hippolyta who was the Amazon queen's sister-self, and the Mala of their world, along with Paula and Gerda Von Gunther, the mortal women who had become Amazons. 

But alongside them came the mortal Amazon army of South America in Earth-One. So Diana had managed to contact them, after all! And now, for the first time in centuries, they had come to fight beside their immortal sisters. For the first time, the breach was healed. 

The Robot Planes of both Wonder Women came nearer, and from them leaped two other heroines. One of them, in gold and red, fell expertly and with both fists outstretched, slamming hard into the jaw of Gerda and flatly knocking her off her winged horse. The both of them crashed to the ground of Paradise Island, but the Amazon girl bounced up and, in a moment, regained her feet in front of Hippolyte and saluted. "Amazon Fury reporting for duty, Ma'am. Just got here from Earth-Two. Are we late?" 

The second heroine to "drop in", a powerful black woman in a one-piece outfit, was known to Hippolyte all too well. She had begun existence as a child carven by the Amazon queen, just like Diana, and given life by Aphrodite, also like her. Of late, she had based herself in Africa. But now she, too, had come to aid her Amazon sisters. She was every bit as powerful as Diana. 

Like Fury, the black Amazon drew a bead on an adversary, this one being Lya, the daughter of the Duke of Deception, and knocked her off her borrowed steed. She landed on the island's soil carrying her unconscious burden in her arms. 

"Greetings, Queen Mother," said Nubia. "Glad you didn't finish the battle before I got here." 

Circe, circling above on one of the winged horses, snarled and lifted both her arms. This operation stood in grave danger of being gummed up. It was in need of some serious magic, the kind that could drop these Amazon imbeciles in their tracks. She sent her mind down twisted paths of logic, began a series of gestures, and started a complex chant. 

She didn't get very far with it before a golden lasso encircled her arms and yanked her up and off of the horse, and her chant ended in a cry of pain. 

Through the speaker of the Robot Plane, Wonder Woman of Earth-One said, "Hola, mother! Sorry I'm late. It took a while to get everybody together." 

"And now, Valkyries," said the Wonder Woman of Earth-Two through her own plane's speaker, "about our unfinished business—we're ready if you are." 

Hippolyta turned to her flag girl. "Strike it," she ordered. Obediently, the girl switched the flag of black for a flag of white. 

Now the Valkyries found themselves sandwiched between two armies of Amazons, and suddenly things didn't seem so rosy after all. 

The queen of the Earth-One Amazons caught the eye of her counterpart and held up her fist in affirmation. The Earth-Two Hippolyta did the same. A second later, both of them echoed the same order: 

"ATTACK!" 

Dr. Cyber, her face hidden by a metal mask, groaned. "Oh, hell," she said. "I thought this was going to be a mop-up job." 

-S- 

The trick with tearing apart the firepits of Apokolips was making sure the things didn't threaten any lives when they did it. A delicate task, requiring a huge amount of power. But Superman and Supergirl were up to it. 

The huge nuclear waste pits were miles across, easily visible from space. They provided power for Apokolips and served as dumps for trash of all kinds as well. The radioactive material was held in force fields that served as transmitters of energy to stations buried far underground, and then pumped to all parts of the pitted globe. 

Thus, the Kryptonian duo had to plunge through the noxious, blinding, horrifically hot and deadly mass of atomic trash, smash through force fields which were never intended to hold back beings on their power level, and emerge in the control rooms. The Apokoliptic on duty wasn't prepared for the sight of two blue-clad humans smashing through the retaining wall. He had weapons, he had communications devices, and the alarm was going off to beat the proverbial band. For all that, he couldn't move or speak. He just stood there and gaped. 

"Out," said Superman, pointing, his body dripping radiant trash. 

The attendant tried to form words. Other guards came rushing in, saw the scene, and stopped in their tracks. 

"Get out!" said Supergirl, and punctuated it with a gust of super-breath that blew the unlucky staff out the door and down the hall. When they could pick themselves up again, they ran. 

Over the din of the alarms and flashing lights, Superman said, "Where's the force-field controls?" 

Kara was already at them, twirling dials. "There. I've compensated for the holes we knocked in it. The stuff won't get out." 

"Good. And the power transmitter?" 

"Here." She held up her hand over part of a board, and brought it down in a klurkor stroke. Energy spattered and sparked, and Kal had to put out a fire with his own super-breath. 

"Guess that settles it," he said. "We've got 49 more of these to go." 

"Now that we've learned how, it ought to go faster," opined Kara. "Ready?" 

"Yep. Let's get a move on." 

The two of them held their hands clasped over their heads and began twirling to make themselves into human drills. Then they sprang upward, crashing through the ceiling, boring through reinforced walls and solid rock to reach the surface. It took them somewhat less than a second. They emerged on an Apokolips street, almost causing a land-car wreck before they headed upward. At the speed they were making, even the para-demons had no chance to catch them. 

The power started going out in that sector of Apokolips. 

Over and over again, the Duo of Steel plunged into the fire-pits. Over and over again, they demolished the power transmitter mechanisms. In their wake, the world of Darkseid began grinding to a halt. 

The hospitals and other emergency-threatened locales had their own generators, but the power of Apokolips was much impaired. It took them half an hour to accomplish the task. From above, a viewer in space would have seen little changed. The great pits still seethed with deadly energy. But if he came a little closer, he might have seen the lights in the great cities going out. 

One pit was left unassaulted. That was the one from which Mongul was still trying to extricate himself. The Kryptonian pair had decided not to press their luck where he was concerned. 

Finally, Superman and Supergirl soared up from the last wrecked pit and hovered in the ionosphere. "I'll do you, then you do me," suggested Kal. 

"That's fine by me, Kal," said Supergirl. By this time, they were more radioactive than refined plutonium. Kara rotated before her cousin as twin bolts of heat blasted from his eyes. He went over her costumed form with the precision of a laser scanner, burning the malignant material from her body and costume. She held up her cape so he could get the back of her shirt. "Ummm," she mused. "Feels good, like a heat massage." 

"Don't you ever take things seriously, Kara?" asked Kal. "Okay, I don't see any wavelengths coming off of you that we can't handle. It's my turn." 

Supergirl gave Kal the heat-vision treatment as he turned around before her, going up and down his frame with her blazing eyes. "I take lots of things seriously, Kal," she said. "That's why I have to joke about them. If I had to worry too much about the things that rest in these two little dishpan hands, I might not be able to function." 

"You function exceptionally well," he said. "And your hands are not dishpanned, Karaish. I know. I checked them out when I was going over them." 

She smiled wryly. "You and mom. She always used to worry about me taking up smoking, even though it couldn't hurt me. She was always checking my hands for tobacco stains. As if! Disgusting habit." 

"So what disgusting habits did you have?" 

"Chewing gum." 

"Okay." 

"Hold up your feet, Kal," she said. Obligingly, Superman presented his soles to her, and she scoured the bottom of his boots with the power of her eyes. "Okay, I'd say that's got it." 

"We need to get back to Darkseid's fortress," said Kal. "The battle's still going on there. And we need to pick up Orion." 

"All right," she said, bending her head down towards the world below. "Just let me make a cursory exam here. Want to make sure that nobody's life is threatened by what we just did." 

She stiffened. 

An instant later, she said, "Kal, go on ahead. I'll catch up as soon as I can. Promise." 

"Kara, what?" 

"Just go!" 

She was already hurtling downward as she said it. He used his super-vision and picked out the area in which she'd most likely land. Kal's eyes narrowed for a moment, then he decided that the situation would be in good hands with his cousin on duty. A second later, he sped away towards the capital city of Apokolips. 

Supergirl was headed for a hospital in the city below. Most such places did have their emergency generators going, and this one had, as well. But the strain they had put on it was too much, and the generator burned out. That in the middle of an operation on one of Darkseid's soldiers. 

She didn't bother with signing in. She just knocked the guards at the door away on her way in. Then she flew to the basement room in which the generator was located, and skidded to a halt on the floor, unconcerned with the looks she was getting from the technos trying to bring the thing up to speed. 

"Where's the problem?" she asked. 

"Great Darkseid!" swore one of the uniformed men, not sure how he should respond. 

"How can we get this thing back up?" she asked. "Don't have time to fight you. Right now, I'm on your side?" 

The three men in attendance exchanged glances, then one said, "The power core's down. Needs recharging." 

"Show it to me," she said. "Quickly." 

Another one held up a schematic and pointed its location out to her. "We've got the thing opened, but you'll need protective clothes." 

"Don't worry about it," she said, and, reaching into the guts of the generator, deftly disconnected the power core and held it in her hands. An instant later, her hands were moving so quickly over it that none of the three could quite see them. She backed up her manipulations with bolts of heat-vision, working feverishly. 

Three seconds later, she replaced the component and reconnected it. "Turn it on," she said. As they did, she prayed to Rao. 

The track lighting in the ceiling came back on. The third man there swore, softly. "Praise the Darkness. And thank you, miss. Are you from the Great One himself?" 

His supervisor looked at him with terrific contempt. "Rojath, you are so uninformed I'm surprised you can tell a diode from a dipstick. I'll tell you who she is later. But, off the record, miss, thank you." 

"You're welcome," she said. "Keep it working. I've got something to do before I leave." She flew out of the room and down the halls and up the stairs, upsetting doctors, nurses, and patients alike. One of the guards hit an alarm. She really didn't care. 

Kara stopped long enough to snatch a sterile smock before she burst into the operating room. Her super-hearing was turned on enough for her to catch the ebbing beat of the heart of the soldier on the table, his chest open to the surgeons and nurses in attendance. 

"Who in the name of the Pits are you?" demanded the surgeon in charge. 

"Never mind that," she said. "I can help." 

She plunged her hand into the gore of the Apokoliptic's chest and performed a heart massage with infinite care and skill, the way she had learned ages ago from Kal and a doctor who taught her emergency therapy. She did not stop until the heart's beating became strong enough and the machines which sustained him came back to full force. Then she bent to the man's unconscious mouth and reinflated his lungs with her super-breath. He was still under anaesthesia, but now he had a fighting chance. 

Supergirl broke her kiss of life and looked up at the astonished medics. "Can you take it from here?" 

"Yes," said a doctor. "Yes, of course. But who...why..." 

"That's not important," she said. "Just bring him through. Thanks, and farewell." Still in the sterile gown, Supergirl left the floor, assumed a position parallel to it, and flew back through the operating room doors. 

An instant later, the doctors were back at work. 

The patient had stabilized nicely, and they were confident of bringing him out safely. One surgeon looked up at the other. "You really want to tell him about this, when he wakes up? Who he owes his life to?" 

"You really want to tell the administrator, and have him tell the authorities, and both of us wind up in a mobile med unit on the New Genesis front?" 

"No," said the other. "Nothing happened here tonight out of the ordinary." 

"Not a thing. Just a little power failure. Tie this off, will you?" 

-S- 

Mantis and his forces had claimed Metropolis and a good portion of the surrounding state. Most of the populance had been evacuated, but the heroes of Earth-One were stymied by the power of the energy parasite and his forces. Whatever they threw at him, he could absorb and throw back. Thus, the defenders were impelled to fall back to a defensive position. They fought many skirmishes with the outer ring of super-villains, mostly to a draw. 

The Outsiders wondered how long it would be before Gotham City fell, and fought like hell against the possibility of that happening. So did the remainder of the JLA and the New Titans. But with Superman, Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern gone, things weren't going well for the defenders. 

Team Metropolis, an ad hoc team consisting of the Guardian, the Thorn (at nighttime), Steel, Vixen, the Black Orchid, Elastic Lad, Blue Devil, and Insect Queen, were doing their valiant best to try and liberate their hometown, but the Secret Society of Super-Villains had beaten them back. Now a new foeman appeared, high above the fray, familiar to all of them. He was one of Superman's deadliest foes, and it didn't matter that he wore a cowboy outfit and rode a winged horse. 

"Kinda obligin' of you all to group together like this," announced Terra-Man in his Texan drawl. "Haven't had a chance t'do much killin' lately. You may not be the Big S, but you'll do till he hits town." 

"Big talk, for a guy who rides something off a Mobil billboard," said Blue Devil. "You haven't nailed us yet. And considering your win-loss record, I doubt you'll manage it even now." 

"Better ease up, Dan," allowed Steel. "That guy's weapons only look antique. They're alien-made. He could take out a city block with those guns of his." 

Lana Lang, in her yellow eye-mask and costume, shivered. "This isn't right, Jimmy. By all rights, we should be reporting this stuff, not taking part in it." 

Elastic Lad stretched his fists out a full five feet from his elbows. "I've had to duke it out with bad guys about as often as I reported on 'em, Lana. Lots of times, Superman wasn't there until I'd already mixed it up. If we have to die for the city, this is the way to do it. And if we don't, we'll be on the spot for the story of our lives." 

"On the spot is right," said Lana. She rubbed the ring an alien had given her as a girl, and great gauzy wings sprang from her back. Her lower section turned into that of a great bumblebee, though her chest, head, and arms were still that of a human woman. "It's been a long time since I've done this. Wish me luck." 

"Luck in spades, honey," said Jimmy as he began stretching up towards Terra-Man. 

"Oh, great," said the Guardian. "Those two are pushing it. Orchid, take Steel upstairs!" 

"As you wish, Guardian," said the mysterious masked woman in purple. She grabbed Steel, late of the Justice League, by the armpits and hauled him skyward, intending to hurl him as a living missle at Terra-Man. The Thorn looked on, and burned with anger at not being able to participate...yet. Vixen began scrabbling up the side of a building, hoping she could manage to launch herself at their sky-riding foe, and doubly hoping he didn't move out of the way when she did. 

For his part, Terra-Man smiled. He also aimed his gun. It was loaded with the very bullets Steel had described, and any one of them had the power to blast all eight of his foes into oblivion. "S'long, hombres 'n' senoritas," he said. "Just bidness. Nothin' personal." 

Another sound of wings. 

"Hold, villain!" 

The voice that cried out the challenge came from behind. It was unfamiliar to Terra-Man, and to the heroes who faced him. But, by the neon and streetlights, all present were able to make out the figure of another man riding another winged horse. This one wore golden armor with a red tunic, and bore a mighty sword in his strong right hand. 

Terra-Man wheeled his winged horse and got off a shot. 

The knight caught the bullet on his blade and knocked it aside. It hit a street, blew a big hole in the asphalt and damaged some cars, but caused no injury. 

The space outlaw had never seen anybody do something like that. 

"Dunno who you are, sidewinder, but you're crowdin' my turf!" Terra-Man spurred his aerial steed forward. The knight was doing the same with his horse. Both were set for a head-on collision, and Terra-Man was aiming both his guns. 

But the knight swerved, coming up beside Terra's winged mount, and the flat of his blade came around in a powerful sweep, slamming the spaceman from the Old West right across the face. His hat went flying, and so did one of his guns. Terra tried to rally, barely managed to hold onto his reins, and found himself hard-put to keep from slipping out of his saddle. 

To Steel and the rest, it looked like jousting out of an old King Arthur movie. "Is that..." Steel began, still in Black Orchid's grip. 

"I have no idea who he is," said the Orchid. "But he's doing well." 

Terra-Man grasped for his tobacco pouch and threw it. It contained stuff that was far deadlier than tobacco, substances which had taken down Superman himself. Steel saw it. "Throw me!" he shouted. 

The Black Orchid obliged. 

His metal-reinforced hands reached out on the fly. Steel grabbed the pounch, brought it close towards his body, covered it with both hands, and rolled into a ball for impact when he fell. He didn't fall very far. He heard a sound similar to a small jet engine, and felt somebody grabbing his left ankle and pulling him upward. 

Steel craned his neck up to look. Blue Devil had him by one hand. The other one was grasping his trident, from the back of which a jet was keeping them aloft. 

"Do I look ridiculous?" asked Steel. 

"Don't worry about it," said Dan Cassidy. 

Terra-Man tried to unleash his other gun at the knight, but the Black Orchid, freed of Steel's burden, flew forward and smashed a blow across his face. He dropped the gun, which, with a little finesse, the Guardian caught before it hit the street. She was off and away before the knight wheeled and made his demand of Terra. "Surrender, brigand, or face the justice of the land!" 

"You dumb ranny, I been avoidin' justice for over a hundred years!" snarled Terra, wincing at his bruises. He began to reach under his horse's saddle for another weapon he had concealed there, and hoped he could get it in time to use it. 

He couldn't. 

The knight's horse smashed into the side of his own cayuse and darned near knocked it out of the sky. The knight himself grabbed the reins of Terra's horse in one hand to keep him under control. Terra-Man swore, brought up a gloved hand, and hoped that the alien metal he had under it would be enough to take this tin-plated idiot out. 

The good right hand of the knight shot out, slammed five knuckles into the mustached man's chin, and sent him to the mental equivalent of Boot Hill. He had to grab Terra-Man by the shirtfront to keep him from falling. Within a very few minutes, he and his horse had guided their two foes back to a safe landing on the ground. 

The Guardian and his team surrounded the two horses, the hero, and the fallen outlaw. Insect Queen, flitting above, humphed. "Oh, well, at least I didn't have to sting anybody," she said. 

"Bethink yourself not a noncombatant, milady," said the knight. "Not every soldier sees action in every battle, but every one of them be a soldier, for all that." 

"Very poetic," said Jimmy Olsen. "But now that you've done our work for us, Prince Valiant, clue us in. Who are you?" 

He smiled, and partially unsheathed his sword. "Call me Sir Justin, for such was I known in King Arthur's court. By chance I was frozen for centuries, on a world they tell me you call the Second Earth. By further chance I was freed over forty years ago, to do battle in your modern world. I am a member of those who were called the Seven Soldiers of Victory, who are now named the Law's Legionnaires. By the name the men of this century have given me...I am the Shining Knight." 

The Blue Devil and Steel landed in time to catch the end of Sir Justin's speech. "Son of a gun, man," said the horned hero. "You ever consider doing stunt work in the movies? You'd be a natural. That is, if you brought the horse." 

"Silence, Dan," said the Thorn, impatiently. "We are grateful for your help, Sir Justin. Will you stay and aid us in the battle to come?" 

The Shining Knight looked at Terra-Man, laid out peacefully on the sidewalk, and then towards the towers of Metropolis, where Mantis held rule. 

"As long as there is war to be waged," he said, "there is no choice but one. And God help us in our battle." 

"Amen," said the Guardian, without irony. 

-B- 

Across the skies of Apokolips, visible on the side that held night, a comet or something like it streaked. 

Only a being with telescopic vision could see that it was composed of two parts: Darkseid and Highfather, both holding fast to the staff between them, both battering away at each other with energies that could cause untold devastation, were they groundborne. The two of them were in suborbital space, propelled by their contradicting power, and neither one of them took notice. 

Both stared in each other's face with undisguised hatred. Highfather saw the being who had plotted and abetted his wife's murder, many years ago. Darkseid saw the one Celestial who, above all, had blocked his plans for conquest time after time. 

Some years back, Darkseid had attacked Izaya, brutalized him, left him almost for dead. But Izaya had been a pacifist then. Now, he had tempered his philosophy. When he had to be, Izaya was a warrior anew. 

And he was a warrior most formidable. 

But so was Darkseid. 

The powers of Alpha and Omega contended, as the two of them blasted a trail through the sky, barely held near the planet's atmosphere by what gravity could reach them. There was no directing their flight, no conscious attempt to bring themselves upward or downward, north, south, east, or west. They simply circled the globe, hurled their might at one another, and dared each other to be the first one to yield. 

From the looks of things, that might not happen for ages. 

Below, the men of Apokolips looked on the blazing streak, and wondered. 

Highfather and Darkseid fought on. 

-S- 

Metron, Jezebelle, and Bug were at a standoff. Neither the weapons of the Mobius Chair, Jezebelle's eye-blasts, or Bug's agility were able to make much headway against the five Gravi-Guards. The things were like five miniature mountains. They didn't move fast, but where they stood, they were virtually immovable. And two of them had their hands on Orion's body, pinning it down. 

The four Female Furies, Stompa, Lashina, Mad Harriet, and Bernadeth, had tried to help. But Granny Goodness had turned up on a flying war-scooter, escorted by a host of her prize pupils from her military academy, and they had to break off and fight them. The women were badly outnumbered, and it was all they could do to hold their own. 

The warrior harridan cackled in glee as a soldier's blow got through to Bernadeth, an instant before she killed him with her Fahrenknife. "Show them the skills Granny taught you, dearie, but we've got the numbers. Now you'll learn what it means to turn against Granny in her time of need, oh, yes you will! Better you'd fallen into the hands of Desaad!" 

Stompa lashed out with her great feet against several of Darkseid's troopers, smashing them back. "Will you shut up, Granny? I never could stand that cackle of yours, even on the obstacle course!" 

Granny responded by pointing her baton at Stompa and unleashing a nerve-beam that sent the Fury into a painful, involuntary buck-and-wing. Stompa bumped against a wall and slid down it, exhausted. 

"One doesn't speak out of turn to Granny, my darlings," she rasped. "And now, my pets, if you'd be so good as to kill them?" 

There was a loud booming sound from behind. Granny whirled on her flying platform to see what was incoming. 

Big Barda and Mr. Miracle tumbled out of the end of a Boom Tube. Neither one of them looked like they were there for afternoon tea. 

Barda leaped from the edge of the Tube and landed square on Granny, taking her down, overturning the platform, and dumping both of them twenty feet to the ground. They hit hard. Both women were tough, more powerful than human women by a magnitude, and Granny's elderly appearance belied her strength. But Barda was still the strongest woman Granny had ever encountered, and she maintained her edge as a warrior. The villainess tried to get to a positronic knife and gut her foe with it, but Barda grabbed Granny's wrist, bent her hand backward into a sprain, and got the both of them on their feet. 

Granny, now a spitting cat of a woman, grasped for Barda's face, trying to tear her eyes out. 

"Granny," muttered Barda, "that's not nice." 

She drew back a fist and let it fly. 

A few more such punches rendered the matriarch of Darkseid's troops beyond any command capacity that day. 

Mr. Miracle, two flight-discs attached to his feet, soared over the scene. "Metron," he called out. "Is Himon with you?" 

"Scott Free!" exclaimed Bug. "I knew he'd make it in, somehow." 

Metron, hovering over the ground but at a safe distance from the Gravi-Guards, said, "Greetings, Scott Free. Your mentor came with us, but I have not seen him of late." 

"Mr. Miracle," Jezebelle called up. "We think Orion's still alive, but we haven't been able to get at him." 

The lead Gravi-Guard sneered. "Oh, you can get to him, sure enough. Just come within range of us, and we'll pile your body parts on top of him!" 

Above the din of battle, a new roar was heard, like the sound of a mighty body flying at hyper-speed. It drew the attention of most of the combatants in the area, and a few of them even had time to look before a blue-clad, red-caped form came down from the skies like a thunderbolt, crashed knuckles into one of the Gravi-Guards, and soared back upward again. 

"Su–" began Mr. Miracle, barely able to track his progress. 

The man from Krypton blasted down two more times and felled two more Gravi-Guards before the fourth and fifth grabbed him, exerted their gravity-warping powers to compensate for his strength, and piled on him, beginning to crush him. Metron and Jezebelle blasted away at them, but to no avail. 

But, instead of resisting, Superman went with the flow, forcing his body under the ground. One of the Gravi-Guards came with him, still pushing him downward with the force of Krypton's gravity. Then, unexpectedly, the Man of Steel bored laterally through the ground, dislodging his foe. A quick turn upward and he broke ground outside the circle of Gravi-Guards, emerging from his earthen prison. 

Orion was still within the Gravi-Guards' keep, and two of the Guards were still conscious. 

"Got any ideas, Scott?" asked Superman. 

Mr. Miracle, hovering above the fray, said, "I'm thinking." 

An instant before everyone else heard the noise of rushing wind, Superman cocked his head and said, "Hold on. Supergirl's coming." 

The Girl of Steel soared in from the Southwest, and wasted no time in greetings. She made a straight line from above for the circle of Guards. "Kara, no!" Superman yelled, but there was no stopping her. 

By the time the words had left his lips, she had Orion's ankle firmly in hand. But one of the Guardsmen held him by the neck, and she knew that to try and wrest him away would tear his body apart. 

Her super-hearing told her that Orion was still alive, though his heartbeat was weaker than normal. With a look of rage on her face, Supergirl unleashed a smash at the Gravi-Guard's face. He toppled like a falling redwood. 

But two more had since revived from Superman's assault, and they lay hands on her and were bearing her downward. Supergirl blasted away at them with her heat vision, strove to knee and punch them, but was unable to do much damage. 

With a cry of anger, Superman leaped into their midst. He forced two of the Guards apart and, with great effort, pried one of them away from Kara. But the Gravi-Guards were overwhelming them both, and Orion was still their prisoner as well. 

"Crush them!" rasped the lead Guardsmen. "Crush them in the name of Darkseid!" 

The four Guards who were still conscious grasped them on all sides, pressing them in a human wedge. This time, there would be no boring through the ground to escape them. Superman and Supergirl were caught chest to chest. They looked at each other, and each caught the sight of desperation in the other's eyes. 

The Gravi-Guards exerted their powers and began to crush the Kryptonians within the press of their bodies. 

Metron was unloading some of the heaviest explosives in his Chair on them, to no avail. Jezebelle and even Bug attacked, but it was like attacking a skyscraper with a paper sword. The Kryptonians were facing death, and none appeared able to save them. 

Then a new voice was heard. "Scott, the sonics! Join your Mother Box with mine!" 

The man on the flying discs looked, and saw a familiar figure throwing off the uniform of an Apokolips soldier. The mentor who had taught him every skill he had at the art of escape. 

The new god called Himon. 

Mr. Miracle looked upon his white-haired teacher, comprehended what he requested, and activated the Mother Box powers that were now an integral part of him. They reached out to the small Box Himon carried on his person, and formed a circuit. Then both Boxes directed a certain power of theirs against the Gravi-Guards. 

It was difficult to hurt the Guardsmen with physical force. But even they could fall prey to the sonic bursts that assaulted their ears, interrupted their balance senses, and threatened to make them reel and fall down. 

Superman and Supergirl felt a slight lessening of pressure. "Kal," Kara gasped. "What's happening?" 

"Don't use your hearing power," Kal said, after taking in a great breath of air. "Push against me." 

"Hold...fast!" demanded the lead Guard. "Grasp hands. Do not slacken! These two, at least, we shall destroy." Trying not to stagger, the foursome managed to keep their ring intact, and they were all still overshadowing Orion's body. But, as the sound blasts from Himon's and Mr. Miracle's Mother Boxes intensified, the red-skinned quartet began to reel like a party of drunks. 

Not far away, another unit stepped cautiously through a break in Darkseid's fortress wall. The Losers' League, Tigra in their midst, took in the sight. "Zipsville," said Snapper, in a low voice. "That's Superman and Supergirl those nasties are mashing." 

"Gravi-Guards," said Tigra, unable to see Orion through the mass of bodies. "They control the flow of gravity within their reach." 

"Suppose I could score a split with the old bowling ball here?" asked the Human Cannonball, touching his helmet. 

"Anything that's too powerful for Superman, Chase, is too powerful for you," judged Chris Chance. "But we can't stand by and let them die." 

"Maybe we won't have to," said Mal Duncan, turning to Mind-Grabber Kid. "Think you can use the Force, my son?" 

Lucian glared at his teammate. "If you don't cut out those Star Wars jokes, Duncan, I'll turn your mind inside out one of these days. But it's worth a try." 

"Do it, Luch," directed Snapper. "Blitz their brains." 

The helmeted youth placed his fingers at the side of his head and concentrated. 

The four Gravi-Guards, trying hard to keep their footing and to resist the counterpressure of the Duo of Steel, suddenly felt a new presence in their minds. 

RELEASE THEM.> 

"What is...happening?" croaked one of the Guardsmen. 

"Pay it no mind!" grated their leader. "Crush them, before...before..." 

RELEASE THEM. YOU HAVE NO CHOICE.> 

"Captain, I...I..." said a third Gravi-Guard. 

"Keep pressing, or you'll be the next to die!" 

RELEASE THEM. BY ORDER OF DARKSEID.> 

"I...the Dark Lord is commanding...I have to let go..." 

"DAMN you! Someone is playing tricks with your mind! Hold fast, Enash, or..." 

The Gravi-Guard let go and fell back. He lay on the ground like a beached fish. The three who were left tried to join hands to seal the gap he had left, but Superman twisted his body as much as he could to prevent it. 

"Pour it on, Lucian," said Snapper. "It's working." 

Supergirl gritted her teeth, looked into Kal's eyes with grim satisfaction, and kept pressing against his chest with her hands, as he pressed against her shoulders with his. It hurt...but they were holding their own. 

DARKSEID ORDERS YOU TO RELEASE YOUR CAPTIVES.> 

"I...I must obey," said another Gravi-Guard. "It is the will of Darkseid." 

"I will destroy you for this!" the lead Guard promised. For another three seconds, the circle held. 

Then the third Guardsman fell back, and the other two tottered under the impact of the mental barrage and the sonics. And with that, Superman and Supergirl gave their utmost, shoving against each other with a force that could move a planet out of its orbit. 

The two of them broke free with a shout of triumph, and flew above the fray. The last pair of Gravi-Guards went down on their backs. Before any one of the four could manage to try and regain their footing, Himon darted forward, grabbed Orion by the legs, and started to drag him from their circle. 

Mr. Miracle began to fly towards him on his foot-discs. He was smiling. "Old-timer," he said, "looks like we've cheated the Racer again!" 

That was when he saw another presence step out from the shelter of Darkseid's fortress wall. A person he had encountered in times past, and knew as one of the Dark Lord's deadliest attendants. 

Kanto, Darkseid's personal assassin. 

He had a weapon, and it was aimed at Himon's back. 

"NO!" 

He pried the flying disc from his right foot and had it in hand to throw even as Kanto pulled the trigger. 

For his part, Himon was perplexed. A moment prior, he had been hauling the unconscious form of Orion from the circle of Gravi-Guards. Then there was a sudden burning feeling on his back. 

Simultaneously, he heard the sound of rushing wind from above and behind him. Was the Superman coming for him, to fly him away? 

He turned and saw who it was. It was neither Superman nor Supergirl. 

The figure that came for him was black, dressed in colorful armor, and borne across the air on skis. 

Himon had time to say "Oh," before the Racer took him in his arms and bore him away. 

"Is this all there is?", he asked, as he saw the heavens opening before them. 

"Yes," said the Racer. "For you." 

"What about Scott? And Orion?" 

"Take no heed of them," replied his bearer. "For you, the race is run." 

And before they left the mortal plane, Himon was almost certain he heard Scott Free screaming his name. 

-S- 

Snapper Carr barely knew what he was doing. All he knew was that he had seen an old man cut down by somebody with a strange gun, while dragging a terribly wounded man out of the circle of Guardsmen. He heard somebody screaming a name, "Hyman," or something like that. He also heard somebody calling the killer something in language that he would never have used at the Justice League meeting table. 

He realized the second screamer was himself. And he was running full tilt boogie at the assassin, who, disdaining the use of his blaster, was holding a throwing knife. 

Then a blue-clad woman interposed herself between Snapper and Kanto and shattered the weapon on her chest. Snapper stumbled against her and almost broke his nose. 

"Put it down," she said to Kanto, in a deadly tone. "Put everything you have down." 

Superman had already landed and was holding Orion's body. "Do as she says, or you're toast," he warned. 

"Sorry, I have my orders," said Kanto. "And my protection." 

His left hand, already in his pocket, aimed a Kryptonite beamer of Darkseid's own design at them. He could drop the both of them without taking it out of his pocket, and intended to. 

But before it could be triggered, or before the Kryptonians' heat vision could be brought into play, a pair of small but effective guided missles shrieked towards him and contacted him right in the chest. The explosion occurred before he had time to widen his eyes. 

Superman whirled to take the impact on his back, shielding Orion from its fury. Kara stood, unharmed by the blast, and looked on its aftermath. She had to make a supreme effort not to throw up. There wasn't enough left of Kanto even to bury. 

Metron, hovering above them, contemplated the scene. The ports on his Mobius Chair from which the missles had come were still smoking. 

"To those who offer us death," he pronounced, "death will be given." 

Mr. Miracle and Big Barda were already on the scene. Scott clutched Himon's body, his gloves reddening as he embraced his fallen mentor, and cried in great, harrowing sobs. Barda covered the both of them, her warclub at the ready, daring any of the enemy to strike. No one took the dare. 

"Oh, Source," said Jezebelle, looking upon it. "Oh, great Source." 

"The Source had nothing to do with this," said Forager, through his teeth. "Darkseid did." 

Tigra broke from the Losers' League and ran towards Superman and Orion. She grasped the New God's insensate form with both her arms and wept. "My son. Oh, gods, my son. What have they done to you? What has Darkseid done?" 

"He's alive, ma'am," said Superman. "And we're going to keep him that way." 

Supergirl rushed up to them. "Let's get him back to New Genesis. If there's a way of keeping him alive, it's bound to be there." 

But, as the two of them spoke, both heard another sound from the skies. It was a day for such noises, as if the lot of them were standing in World War II-era London. That was an appropriate comparison, as the sound was something like that of a falling buzz bomb. 

Metron and company saw what looked like a falling meteor. Superman and Supergirl trained their telescopic vision on it. 

"It's them," she said. "Highfather and–" 

"Don't get near them," said Superman. "The energies could destroy us." 

Someone, from the direction of the fortress, cried, "Kara!" 

She recognized the voice. "Dev!" she exclaimed, and sped forward towards the source of his voice. 

What walls were still standing between her and Dev went down in her passage. She burst through a final one, and saw Dev in what remained of his Apokolips robes. His regular uniform was torn beneath it, and he was showing some bruises and cuts as well. 

At his feet lay an unconscious Gravi-Guard. "Hello, princess," he said, smiling with an effort. "Ran into a bit of difficulty. This bloke here almost broke my neck." 

She hugged and kissed him before he could resist. "Devian, if only you'd been with us. But now, we've got to get Orion to New Genesis. Come with me." 

"Did the kids and Tigra make it through all right?" 

"You mean Snapper? Yes, they're safe." 

"Then we've got a lot of people to get offworld. Give me a hand, Kara, I'm not moving any too quickly right now." 

"Uh, Dev...", she said, looking upward. Then she took hold of him, crashed through the roof, and got them outside a few seconds before a pair of blazing figures hit what was left of the fortress and blew the rest of it apart. 

Superman, seeing the blast, flew about it at super-speed, making a circle about it, catching the impact and debris on his invulnerable body. He winced as he felt the backwash from the Alpha and Omega powers of the two who had impacted, but he did not give way. For her part, Supergirl herded their allies out of harm's way. The lot of them waited and wondered. 

Then, as the blast dissipated its force, Superman broke off his circling, darted within, and came out carrying Highfather. Izaya was battered, a bit seared, and definitely tired. But he still clutched his staff, and he looked triumphant for all that. Kal, somewhat weakened by the Alpha energy, set his burden down gently among the group of New Genesis allies. Izaya looked out at them and blinked. 

"Metron," he said. "Scott. Jezebelle. All of you. Has the battle gone well?" He looked at Tigra, who was kneeling, clutching Orion. "Does my son yet live?" 

"Never mind us," said Lashina. "What about you, Highfather? And..." 

From behind them, they heard one last wall fall. 

Darkseid, glowing with black, maleficent power, staggered from the ruins of his keep. His eyes were fixed on the lot of his foes. He showed at least as much damage as Highfather. But he was quite capable of dealing out an Omega Effect death. And that, guessed the knowing among them, was just what he was preparing to do. 

His eyes began to glow in a manner different from the aura that surrounded him. 

Izaya raised his staff above his head and let white energy pour forth from it. 

"Kal," said Kara, still holding Dev's hand. Superman turned towards her as the Alpha Effect surrounded the lot of them, the Loser's League, Metron's band, Tigra, Orion, Mr. Miracle, Barda, and the Female Furies included. 

Even as the Omega blasts reached for them, the invaders vanished in white light. 

Darkseid stood stock-still for a long moment, not even taking notice of what his blasts destroyed in their path. He stood in thought for a good long while. 

There was a noise behind him. Debris being dislodged and pitched away. Someone had survived the destruction of his fortress. Slowly, Darkseid turned, to see Kalibak pulling himself from the ruins. 

"Father," said Kalibak, brushing the stone from his person. "Have they gone? Have they taken him, already?" 

Darkseid took his time before answering. 

"Only his body," he said. "I have his mind." 

To be continued...   



	27. Part 27:  The Striking Shadows

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 27 

by DarkMark 

It was hard to see the shadows against the blackness of space, but Superboy managed it. 

Kal was still getting used to his super-vision. He had to combine the X-ray vision with the telescopic and infra-red to do a really complete sweep of the space outside the Monitor's satellite. 

Irrationally, he thought: These things sure don't look like they did in a comic book. "Group," he said, "we're being shadowed." 

He hoped that sounded heroically brash. 

The other occupants of the Monitor's satellite, Harbinger, Lady Quark, Alex Luthor, Pariah, Beautiful Dreamer, and Zatanna, snapped to attention. "Caught it before even my mystic alarms could be triggered," muttered Zatanna, rushing to a viewscreen. 

"He's good," allowed Alex. 

Pariah shot a look at the redhaired man in the golden armor. "Alex," he ventured. "Are you up to this?" 

The last survivor of Earth-Three returned Pariah's look, neutrally. There were lines on his face. There was white at his temples. Alex Luthor was less than a year old. He had prematurely aged at a horrifying rate, going from infancy to young adulthood during the early Crisis. Zatanna and some of the other magicians had used their powers to retard his chronal progress, as best they could. It had worked for awhile. 

Now it was obvious that it wasn't. 

"I'm fine," said Alex. "I'm up for anything, Kell." 

"Remember our duty, allies," said Lady Quark, her hands glowing with atomic force. "We protect D'reema unto death. Darkseid's demons must not take her." 

"Ma'am," said Superboy. "I want to tell you it's an honor to work with you. I've read of you, you see, and I know what you went through, believe it." 

She gave him the coldest look he'd ever seen in his life. "You think you know me from reading about me in a colored paper? You really think you know?" 

Kal had nothing to say. 

"Quark, Zatanna, at them," directed Harbinger. "The rest of you stand fast. Superboy, I want you here beside D'reema." 

"Will do," said Superboy, grimly. "But shouldn't I be out there on the front line?" 

"Not when it is more important to defend our charge," she answered. 

He looked back at her and D'reema. "Okay," he said, and went to the New Genesite's side. 

"Thank you, Kal," said D'reema. "I am sorry that my powers aren't much on the offensive side." 

"Your power is the greatest of all," said Zatanna, clambering into a transparent space suit and heading for the escape hatch. "That's why Darkseid wants it. And don't you ever forget it." 

By the time Quark and Zatanna got the hatch open, the shadow-demons were already there. They flowed against them like black tar mixed with liquid oxygen. They flowed around them, past them, reaching for the interior where the woman with the Life Equation waited under guard. 

There was a blast of atomic force and magic combined and the shadows gave way, flying backward through the opened hatch. 

"Cigam dnib eht swodahs," said Zatanna, within her space helmet. The magic worked just as well with it on. Strings of glowing magic energy erupted from her hands, startling even her–-there was no way even she could tell how the magic was going to manifest—and began to weave themselves into a net about the shadow-beings. But too many of them were outside of its grasp. 

Lady Quark was taking care of a lot of the rest. Her powers sustained her in empty space, and her face was set and grim. She unleashed her nuclear blasts at such strength that she was blown backwards from the recoil of them, and had to occasionally right herself with a retro-blast behind her. But the blasts of withering power went where she wanted them to, and where they went, they shattered shadow-demons into a billion bits. The things were having one hell of a time reassembling themselves, as well, and Zatanna figured that some of them were getting mixed up with their fellows when they did. 

She felt the coldness reaching up from behind her and quickly spoke a spell. "Dleihs mrof dnuora–" That was as far as she could get before it began seeping in through her space suit. The coldness hit her and paralyzed her voice before she could manage to say "em." 

For a moment, she knew how her father had felt a few weeks ago, when the Darkness took him during John Constantine's seance. 

Then a burst of light-power, and the darkness shattered. 

Harbinger was visible, floating in the void, her right hand still glowing with the power she had unleashed. Zatanna drew a grateful breath and said, "Em." In response, a force-field of light surrounded her. She hoped it would be proof against the attackers. 

Some of the shadows had already gotten inside the Monitor's satellite. Several of them were cut to pieces by the defenses the satellite's creator had set up. Three of them survived, and started heading for the heroes inside. 

In response, D'reema created multiple illusions of herself, all around the chamber where they stood, and projected a camouflage illusion on her real self. But the things were still coming towards her. Apparently, she guessed with a twinge of fear, the shadow-beings could see with senses beyond those of ordinary sight. Her Mother Box was pinging and she could count on it for some defense, but not as much as she'd need. 

But she could rely on more than that. 

With a snarl, Superboy leaped at the shadows and blasted away with his heat-vision, cutting them in half. "Take that, ya crummy aliens! Regards from Earth-Prime!" He slammed a punch at the severed upper half of one of the demons. It went right through it without much damage, and he felt as though he'd stuck his hand into the middle of the Antarctic ice cap. 

The shadow was reaching right past him. He whirled at super-speed, dissipating it into flinders. While he did so, clasping his frozen hand and upper arm under his armpit, he thought: They're like the Ringwraiths from Lord of the Rings. Or maybe crossed with them and the Blob. If they keep reforming, how do we stop 'em? 

One of the shadows tried engulfing Pariah and was blown to bits. 

The surviving shadow, at least its top half, was arrowing towards Beautiful Dreamer, its elongated arms outstretched. 

It never quite got there. 

Alex Luthor was using his power, and a great space-warp was opening in his midsection. 

"Kal, hold her and Pariah!" he barked. Superboy whisked to the task, grabbing D'reema in one arm and Kell in the other, and floating to the ceiling to protect them both. He felt the tug of Alex's power, and judged that anybody with less power than him would have a tough time resisting it. 

The shadows didn't seem to have a chance. 

They resisted it for a second, then were reeled into the hole in Alex's body—a quite eerie thing to look at, Kal judged. The shadow-men tried to hold onto objects within the satellite, without much luck. Their substance parted and was sucked into the warp-hole, with their severed finger-bits following. Within ten seconds, the shadow-men were gone, and Alex's body was whole again. 

"Where'd you send them?" asked Kal. "Where'd they go?" 

"Elsewhere," said Alex. "Get me a helmet, quickly. I need to go outside." 

"My thanks, Alex," said D'reema as Superboy set her and Pariah back on the flooring. "On behalf of all my people." 

Tiredly, Alex smiled. "Accepted, D'reema, but it isn't over yet. Hold the applause." 

Pariah said, "I don't have a way of fighting against them, unless they attack me. Could you drop me into the conflict, perhaps?" 

Superboy sped back, with a helmet and air supply from the satellite's supply room. "Stay with D'reema, Kell," he said. "We'll be back in a minute. If we get back at all." 

Alex clamped the helmet on his suit and Kal activated the air tank. Then he grabbed the golden-armored scion of Earth-Three and propelled him out the hatch. The women were still fighting the contingent of shadows outside, as both of them expected. Alex looked at Superboy, then pointed at each of the heroines. Kal understood. 

Hoping they would, he let Alex go and collected each of them from behind, flying them to a point behind his partner. When Luthor saw they were safe, he activated his power. 

The shadow-demons who were streaking towards them learned, a second too late, that they would have been better served going the other way. 

Their icy, indefinable mass spiraled into the warp in Alex's body like oil being pumped through a line. Superboy felt the suction power even where he was, and held out his arms to keep Zatanna, Harbinger, and Lady Quark from being drawn towards it, though he expected they could use their powers to keep back as well. It took almost a minute. But once it was through, Alex Luthor had banished the army of shadows to a place even he would have been hard-pressed to find. 

Superboy grinned and gave him a thumb's-up. Alex returned the gesture. 

Kal thought he looked even older than before. 

The five of them returned to the Monitor's satellite. D'reema embraced each of them in turn, gratefully. Superboy returned her hug, a tad too enthusiastically. Zatanna caught his eye and shook her head slightly. With a bit of regret, Kal let her go. 

Lady Quark stated the obvious. "They'll be back," she said. 

Pariah nodded. "Now Darkseid knows where she is. They have to have reported back to him, even as they fought." 

"Which means?" asked Kal, still standing protectively near D'reema. 

Zatanna took off her helmet, sighed, and shook out her long black hair. "Which means, Kal, that we'd better not be here when they do. And we don't have much time to decide on it." 

"I can take this vessel to any universe that still exists," said Harbinger, stepping towards the control console. "We only have to decide. I'll send a split-self to get word to Kara and the rest." 

"I vote for Earth-Prime," Superboy said. "It's probably the place Darkseid would look last. It's my turf, too." 

Alex pointed out, "It's also the world with the least heroes to defend it. Should he attack us there, we won't be able to bring up reinforcements in time, should we fail. And he will find us." 

"Which leaves this universe, or Earths Two, Four, S, or X," said Zatanna. "All of which have their own problems. ...D'reema, what the hell is that noise?" 

A pinging was coming from an object Beautiful Dreamer held in her cupped hands. She was gazing at it almost beatifically, and Kal wondered what it was. Then he guessed. After all, FOREVER PEOPLE #1 was one of his favorite issues. 

"It is Mother Box," D'reema said, simply. "I've taken the damper off her transmissions. She's telling me that Mark and the family are now on New Genesis. She senses word of a great battle, but she can't give details just now." 

The Box was less than three inches square, and Superboy wondered where she kept it ordinarily. Perhaps it was collapsible. 

"You'd hardly be concealed on New Genesis," Harbinger pointed out. 

She looked at Lyla. "Perhaps the time for concealment is past," she said. "If the final battle is nigh, I should stand with my family unit, and they with me. And all of us with Highfather." 

Pariah said, "Brave words, woman. But take heed they do not set your footsteps on the path to Hell." 

Alex replied, "The way things have been going, brother, I don't see any way to keep from heading in just that direction." 

Harbinger looked at the rest of them. "This is your decision, then? Are you ready to fight the forces of Apokolips directly, if they come for her?" 

"They've already come for her," said Superboy. "And if the New Gods are on-planet, I can't think of anybody better to help us fight for her. Except maybe Superman and Supergirl." 

"All right, then," said Harbinger, placing her hands on the control mechanism. "Space-warp activates in five seconds, acceleration begins now." 

The great golden globe left its Earth-One orbit and began hurtling through space, propelled by forces Man would not master for millenia. Three seconds after its initiation of motion, a contingent of Qwardian Weaponers materialized from a Boom Tube and, marking the satellite with direction finders, began to loose thunderbolts in its direction. 

The Monitor's satellite vanished through a warp that closed before the bolts could reach it. 

The captain in charge of the Qward unit swore, wondered what excuse to offer to Darkseid, and then said, "Men, this needn't be a total loss. While we're waiting for follow-up orders, let's deploy below. Hook up with friendly forces and put some of those Earthers on the business end of our bolts." 

The Weaponers, their contramatter forms converted to positive matter for their mission, raised their fists and cheered in their communicator units. 

Then, on space-sleds, their unit headed towards Earth. 

-S- 

The light vanished, and Supergirl and her allies found themselves outside the palace of Highfather on New Genesis. Several guards aimed their weapons, then stood down as soon as they recognized their ruler. Their eyes tended to widen when they saw he was carrying the body of Orion. "Summon our healers," he said. Then the gates swung wide, and Izaya led the contingent of them into the courtyard and then into the palace beyond. Tigra walked beside him, touching the form of her son and refusing to be separated from him. 

Supergirl, walking between Dev and Superman, glanced behind her as surreptitiously as she could manage. Mr. Miracle was carrying Himon's body, wrapped in his cape. The yellow mask concealed most of his face, but his eyes were downturned and he made no sound. Big Barda, taller than him by a long shot, walked close to him and was as grim as a death-goddess. Between them and the Kryptonians came Bug, Jezebelle, Snapper, Bumblebee, the Human Cannonball, Mal Duncan, Mind-Grabber Kid, and Christopher Chance. The humans were awed by the sight of New Genesis, but they, too, were subdued. After Scott and Barda, the Female Furies, Bernadeth, Stompa, Lashina, and Mad Harriet proceeded, two paces behind their friends, offering no conversation themselves. 

Bringing up the rear was Metron. His Mobius Chair hovered five feet off the ground. Most who knew him were used to his lack of emotion. But the face he wore now testified to his internal pain and, to those who could judge such things, a rage and lust for vengeance. 

But one would have had to know him to detect such things. 

The doors of Highfather's dwelling were already swung wide. The contingent of heroes filed in. An attendant approached Izaya, tentatively. "Sire, is Orion—" 

"Not dead," said Izaya, simply. "Not yet." 

"Please," said Tigra, trying to hold back what tears she could manage. "Leave us." 

"A word, sir," insisted the attendant. "You have visitors. Some from, well, that is—" 

Highfather froze him cold with a glance. 

When the attendant regained his voice, he croaked, "Some are–-humans." 

The New Genesite ruler barely deigned to notice. "Then make certain they are well received," he said. 

"Yes, sire. They have been, sire," said the attendant, backing away quickly. 

Izaya led his charges to the medical chamber several levels below the ground floor. The equipment, to Supergirl, looked beyond that which had even been available in Argo City, which, in turn, was beyond that possessed by the healers of Earth. The physicians on duty were not prepared for Highfather's entrance, and gaped when they recognized Orion and saw his mutilated features and body. 

"Attend to my son," said Highfather, and placed him in a plexiglass half-tube connected to various apparati. 

"At once, sire," said the doctor on duty, and snapped his fingers. The rest didn't have to be told what to do. The body of Orion became enveloped by physicians and nurses. Tigra stayed near, just on the periphery of the activity, almost close enough to touch her son if he was not being attended to. Highfather looked on for a moment, then signalled to a nurse. He gestured towards Mr. Miracle, holding Himon's body. 

The nurse pulled a metal tray from a slot in the wall. It hovered over the floor as he guided it along with his hand. Whether it was held up by anti-grav or magnetic repulsion or something else, Kara had no idea. Wordlessly, the nurse brought the tray over to Scott Free. 

"No," said the master of escape. He held Himon's form all the tighter. 

"Scott," said Barda, and lay her hand on his shoulder. 

After a long moment, with much hesitation, Mr. Miracle let his mentor's remains rest on the floating tray. He drew a long, terrible breath, and then coughed it out, doubling, hiding his features with his arm. Barda took him by the shoulders and led him to another room. The nurse took the tray with Himon upon it into another chamber. Kara saw Metron following its progress with his eyes. 

"Holy Rao," she whispered. 

"Easy, Kara," said Dev, entwining the fingers of one hand with one of hers. 

Superman ventured to speak with Highfather. "With all respect, Izaya. Your man mentioned humans having arrived here. Perhaps Kara, Dev, and I might check on them, to verify their credentials." 

Highfather's gaze didn't waver from the tube containing Orion. "My second son is tortured and mindless. My friend Himon is dead. You may go, Superman. When time permits, I will see you." 

"Thank you, Izaya." Superman nodded to Dev and Kara. The three of them left to find a guard. 

The other members of the Losers' League looked towards Snapper. He felt, approximately, like a civilian at a Mafia funeral. Tentatively, he stepped up to Izaya. "Sir," he said. "May we–" 

"Go," said Highfather. 

Snapper stepped back, then went to his team and led them out the door. Where they would go, he had no idea. But they did not belong there, in that room. 

After awhile, the Female Furies, Jezebelle, and Bug followed suit. That left Highfather and Tigra watching over the medicos working over his adopted son and her son. 

They stayed there for a long time. 

-S- 

Superman, Supergirl, and Dev-Em were taken by one of Highfather's guards to a large reception room, well-lighted and opulently furnished. As they approached, Kara took note that there was one huge pair of feet on a table. Before she could tell him to take them down, they hit the floor. 

Big Bear had caught sight of them. "Fires of Apokolips! It's Brother Superman and Sister Supergirl! And...uh..." 

"Dev-Em," said Dev, and stepped forward, his hand outstretched to stop Big Bear's charge. "It's okay. You don't have to hug us. Really. We know you're glad to see us." 

"Are we ever! We didn't know how you made out against Darkseid." 

"We did fine, Big Bear, but Orion and Himon didn't," said Superman. 

"Orion?" Big Bear's countenance fell. "And...Himon?" 

Supergirl nodded. "Orion's been hurt, Bear. Himon is dead." 

"Oh. Great Source." 

"Is your family with you?" 

"They are. More besides, too. Come in and let's get reacquainted." 

Mark Moonrider met them at the door and shook their hands. "It's good to see you all again. How is D'reema?" 

"I left her in the hands of Harbinger and Superboy," said Kara. "She should be–" 

"Superboy?" Superman looked at his cousin in astonishment. "Great Krypton, Kara, what are you talking about?" 

Dev asked, "Wait a minute. You mean, you brought the kid forward in time? Doesn't that make a paradox? How is it that Kal's still here, if you did?" 

"He's not Kal, Dev. Leastways, he's not the Kal of this Earth. He's from Earth-Prime." 

"You mean, Ultraa's Earth?" asked Superman. "They've produced a...well, a counterpart of me?" 

"'Fraid so, Kal. He's a nice kid. You'll like him when you meet him." 

Superman shook his head. "I certainly hope so. This thing is getting crazier by the minute." 

"Do they have a Supergirl there, too?" asked Dev. 

"Not yet," she said. 

"Rank discrimination." 

"Shut up, Dev." 

The five of them went in and saw the new guests of Highfather. 

Serifan, cowboy hat still perched on his head, was amusing himself lassoing the backs of chairs with a lariat he'd improvised from a curtain cord. Vykin the Black sat impassively in one of the chairs about the long ceremonial table, his hands clasped to the large Mother Box that rested before him. Both of them looked up and acknowledged the presence of the Kryptonian trio. Besides them, Rac Shade and Mellu sat side-by-side, talking, while Jennifer Morgan and Amethyst were busy teaching each other various spells with sisterly giggles. Nightmaster, sword slung at his side, was inspecting a book he'd copped from the library shelf in the room, trying to make sense of its alien script and looking over the ornate illustrations. He looked up and saw the three newcomers. 

"Supes," he said. "Great to see you." 

"Likewise, Nightmaster, and all the rest of you," responded Superman. The combined crew of Supertowners and Earthlings began getting up or turning towards their visitors. "What's new on your end?" 

"We're waiting for what comes next," explained Big Bear. "So far, all the action has been on Apokolips." 

"The chickens are about to come to roost, though, I'm afraid," said Kara. "Just a feeling I have." 

"Probably a pretty good one, Kara," allowed Dev. "Darkseid didn't seem to me like the kind of bloke to take what we gave him without answering back." 

"Is Highfather back?" asked Serifan. "Can you tell us what went on at Apokolips?" 

"To begin with, Himon is dead," said Superman. "And Orion, for all purposes, is a vegetable." 

Silence. 

Finally, Vykin said, "Tell us about it." So they did. 

Afterward, grimness swept the features of the four Forever People, and the Magic Squad didn't look any too encouraged themselves. "Orion will be saved," declared Vykin. "And Himon will be avenged." 

"If there's any way to do it, we will," avowed Moonrider. 

"But one question must be answered, Superman," said Shade. "If Orion's mind truly held the Anti-Life Equation, and if he has come to us mindless...then what has become of the Equation?" 

"I don't know," admitted Superman. "If Darkseid had it, we'd all be his personal zombies by now. If he's stolen Orion's mind somehow, he must not be able to get at the Equation that easily." 

"But if he's in possession of it," said Mellu, "then it won't be long before a being of his power can grasp and use it. So why are we still here?" 

Dev looked up at her, wearily. Supergirl said, "Because we are tired, and because we've just been in a battle, and because we needed to get Orion to medical attention, and because Himon just died. Next question?" 

"Our apologies, Supergirl," said Moonrider. "But even given that, we only have a limited amount of time to strike back at Darkseid before he gains control of the Equation. Where is—" 

Kara snapped, "If you're asking about D'reema, I left her in good hands. Trust me. Can you?" 

"With who, Miss Kara?" asked Big Bear. "We have to know." 

Supergirl gave him a look of annoyance. "With the Superboy of another Earth, and Zatanna, a sorceress, and Harbinger, and several other heroes. Now, if you'll excuse me...but you'll have to excuse me." 

She stalked off. Most of the heroes looked at each other. "Kara," called Superman. 

She didn't answer. 

Kal turned towards her, but Dev blocked her. "Let me, Kal," he said. 

"All right," said Superman. She was already out the door. 

Dev heard Kal speaking to the others about battle plans as he caught up to Kara. She'd covered a decent amount of ground after going through the door, forcing him to use his X-ray vision to track her. He found her leaning against a wall in a deserted corridor. 

"Go away, Dev," she said, not looking at him. 

"Do you really want me to?" 

"I'm very tired and I don't even want to make love. I just want to be alone." 

He put his hands on her ribs and said, "Can't we be alone together?" 

She turned like a fury and smacked him across the cheek. 

Dev looked at her and massaged the place where she had struck him. Her eyes were edgy, fatigued, and she was breathing heavily. She looked like a soldier who had been pushed several inches too far. 

"That's the second time you've done this, love," he said, with a bit of ice. "The next time, I may just decide to give it back." 

"Oh, Dev, oh, Dev, oh, damn it..." 

She grasped him with both arms and buried her head in his chest, weeping. 

He drew a deep breath, let it out, and sat both of them down on the floor with the wall to his back. Anyone passing by outside was warned away with a stern look. 

"I'm sorry," she said. "I'm just very, very tired." 

"I understand, pet." 

"I'm tired of fighting all the time. I'm tired of saving the universe all the time. I'm tired of not having enough sleep and hopping through universes on the red-eye and...oh, Rao, I'm just sick of it. I'm sick of it all." 

"Don't blame you," said Dev. "This isn't my usual milleu, either." He nuzzled the top of her head. "That feel okay with you?" 

"Feels good." She sighed, exhaustedly. "I acted like a bitch in there, Dev." 

"You did. But you could have acted a lot worse." 

"Sometimes, Dev...sometimes I just wish I was a 14-year-old kid in Argo again. Happiest times of my life. Just me, mother, and dad in the old hometown. Place I could understand. People I could understand. I love Kal, I love you, and I've got my parents back, but oh..." 

"Don't you think I miss Krypton, too? Don't you think I wish I could go back sometimes and...well...maybe have it to do over again? And maybe get it right, instead of being a delinquent? Don't you..." 

"Dev..." 

He steadied himself with an effort. "Don't you think I miss my dad, Kara? I never got to make good with him. Never got to...the last time I saw him was when they separated us, Kara. And I never got to see him. Rao, I never got to see him again." 

"I know, Dev," she whispered, hugging him tighter. "I know." 

"You don't know," he said. "You can't." 

"Maybe not in all points, Dev," she said. "But everyone of us who's left, everybody who survived...we know. We have that in common. It's our bond. Our curse, but our bond." 

"Sometimes...sometimes I think your cousin is the most bonded of us all." 

"In some ways," she said. "In some ways, both of us are more Krypt. We lived among our people till we were teenagers. He left when he was three. He was raised an Earthman." 

"Yes," said Dev. "But he knows the Krypt ways. He's one of us. And he's a good man, Kara." 

"So are you," she said, snuggling against him. "He knows that, now." 

"I hope so. Do you want to go back, or go somewhere else?" 

"Dev...I just want to..." 

He waited for her to finish the sentence, but it didn't happen. Gently, he brushed her hair back from the side of her face. Her eyes were closed. Her breathing was gentle, and regular. 

In a few moments, she began to softly snore. 

Dev looked up and saw Superman standing nearby, looking at them, tentatively. After a moment, he understood. 

Kal indicated to Dev that he should follow him. He picked up Kara gently, trying not to disturb her sleep. The three of them flew down the corridors, over the heads of startled New Genesites, until they found what amounted to the guest rooms of Izaya's palace. A guard let them in without much fuss. Dev lay Kara on one of the beds, a circular one with a beige covering, and pulled the cover over her up to her neck. He thought about taking off her boots, but decided it would probably wake her. 

At the doorway, he looked back at her. She looked quite peaceful. "Damned if I don't think it'd be a good idea for all of us, El," he said. 

"If you want to catch a few, I'll wake you up when the time comes," Superman said. 

"I'll go back with you and apologize on her behalf. Then I'll find a sack and hit it for awhile." 

"She needs to apologize herself. But I think they'll understand." Pause. "Dev. I think you're good for her." 

"Thanks, El. I think she's good for me, as well." 

Wondering if he really needed to hear that, Superman headed back towards the conference room. 

-S- 

"What in hell are you talking about?" 

The speaker was the warden on Earth-2's Rikers Island Prison. It was one of the number of penal institutions on that planet modified to handle super-powered criminals. Personnel and administrators there pulled down high salaries, and earned every dime of them. They were no strangers to super-heroes or super-villains. But what the young adults of Infinity, Inc. were advocating sounded, to Warden Willis, utterly nuts. 

"It's a tradeoff, sir," explained the female Wildcat. "The Huntress said that if we'd arrange for you to free her husband, she'd give us the means to access their headquarters. That could bring this war to an end. It's worth the risk." 

Willis, an armed guard standing beside his chair, looked out at the coterie of costumed people and wondered how in hell he'd ever gotten into this business in the first place. 

"The Huntress is in custody right now," he said. "We put her in lockdown when you brought her in." 

"We know, sir," said Star-Spangled Kid. "But we did make the deal. We also don't have the access code needed to get up to the villains' satellite. We need her cooperation." 

"Villains." Willis snorted. "Why don't you call 'em perps, or criminals, or something more realistic than that? Round here they're just numbers. No matter what name they had on the outside." 

"It's a tradition, sir," said Obsidian, standing by his sister, Jade. "Super-villains. It's what they're called in the business." 

Jonni Thunder, the white-dressed, Thunderbolt-harboring detective who had come along with Syl Pemberton for the ride, said, "Look, Warden. This has been done lots of times, when the circumstances warrant it. We're not talking about letting out the Wizard or the Thinker here. These two are just some 50-plus humans. They want to be together again–" 

"Which they can be, for conjugal visits," said Willis. 

"–and she says she'll go straight and try to get him to do the same," Jonni finished. "It's not much, but I believe her." 

"And we need those access codes," said Power Girl, sitting on a wooden chair and dangling one leg over the other. "Even I don't know where to find Lex Luthor and company. Things are getting desperate, Warden." 

"We need to get her cooperation, sir," said Nuklon, the inhumanly tall mutant. "It's not exaggerating to say several Earths may be at stake." 

Northwind said, "I think I can say this on behalf of my fellow Infinitors, sir. If this proves to be an unwise decision, if the Sportsmaster and Huntress return to crime, or if her information proves to be useless, then you can rely on Infinity, Inc. to locate them and return them to jail. It will be our responsibility, and we will fulfill it." 

"But they'll still be out of jail until you do," said Willis. "If you manage it." 

Silver Scarab put in his two cents plain. "If you think either of those two could last five minutes in the ring with Infinity, Warden, let 'em out right now and we'll demonstrate. While we're sitting here jawing, the JSA, the Law's Legionnaires, and all the rest of the heroes on this planet are doing what we need to get back to. My girl Fury is on Paradise Island helping out the Amazons. We've got I don't know how many Earths' worth of bad guys to fight, and if this can help us fight them, we need to do it!" 

"He speaks the truth, Warden," put in Dr. Midnight. "Even I can see that." 

"And, with no pun intended," said Hourman II, "time is running out." 

Warden Willis glanced at Harvey, the guard. The latter's eyes said "No". 

He pushed a button on his intercom. "Yes, Warden?" 

"Draw up release papers for two prisoners. Carl Creel and Paula Brooks." 

"Creel and Brooks, sir?" 

"Yes. That's an order. Thank you." He thumbed it off. Then he looked at the ten heroes in his office. 

"If this goes sour, it won't be just my butt in a sling. That's a promise." 

-S- 

On Earth-One, in Metropolis, the bad guys were winning. 

Dr. Fate and Doctor Mist tried for a flanking maneuver against Mantis and his legions. The warrior of Apokolips was standing arrogantly atop the Daily Planet building, which had long since been evacuated. Others stood nearby him: the Mirror Master, the Tattooed Man, Chronos, Captain Cold, and Kite-Man. They tried to conceal the appearance that they'd all rather be somewhere else. 

"Come to me, Fate," rasped Mantis. "Come to me, Mist. Let me show you how immortals die." 

Fate spoke briefly to the mage of Kor. "I'm going to try negatively charged magic, Mist. It's a trick I used once against an enemy who could absorb anything I threw at him. If it works, and he ingests it, it may negate him." 

"As you will, Fate," said the African sorceror. "But beware the magic and the power of the Green Lanterns he has already absorbed, along with all the rest he has taken." 

"Draw his attention," said Fate. Mist, obediently, formed fireballs in his hands and tossed them at Mantis. Sneeringly, the energy-absorbing villain held out his hand. A shield of green force came into being, and the balls of flame rebounded harmlessly from it. 

Fate, diving in from above, let loose golden thunderbolts from his gloves. They leaped the gap between himself and Mantis, and surrounded him in a blinding aura for a moment. 

Captain Cold took the opportunity to level a few ice-blasts at the two heroes, and the Tattooed Man touched his arm and caused a picture of a cannon to leap into being and fire a broadside at them. Fate shielded the both of them with a field of golden power from the cold-bursts. Mist caught the cannonballs in his arms without difficulty, and made the villains scurry for cover by lobbing them back in their direction. 

Then the aura faded, and Mantis stood, raging. 

"Even this power, I take from you, Fate!" he shouted. "And I throw it back at you...thus!" 

The negative magic burst forth from his upraised hands and struck at Fate and Mist. The latter cried out in pain, and the former, though silent, contorted in agony. Both of them wavered, then fell from the sky. 

Both of them were abruptly caught by Owlwoman and the Seraph, two of Mist's International Heroes. The lot of them had been standing by, waiting for action. Now Jack O'Lantern, the Wild Huntsman, the Rising Sun, Dr. Light, Sunburst, Godiva, Green Fury, Icemaiden, and the Olympian hurled themselves at the villains atop the Planet building, from a green platform provided by Jack O'Lantern himself. 

Mantis knocked them all out of the sky with a swath of stolen power. 

Below, Tina of the Metal Men looked up and called to her partners, "Nets! NOW!" Even as she said it, the lot of them, Iron, Gold, Lead, Tin, Mercury, and herself reformed their malleable robot bodies into safety nets, telescoping upwards while their bases remained firmly on ground, and caught the falling heroes and heroines. 

Nightwing, holding binoculars to his eyes, yelled, "Titans! Cover their retreat!" 

"Your wish, Batboy, our command," said Cyborg, jetting forward on a borrowed jet-pack. With him were Raven, Starfire, Speedy, Changeling, Jericho, Kole, and a trio of old-line members pressed into service: the Hawk, the Dove, and the Golden Eagle. Wonder Girl, Aqualad, and Aquagirl were elsewhere, and their absence was felt. But nothing could be done about it. A contingent of villains boiled out of the buildings nearby, and the Titans gave battle while the Metal Men got their charges to safety. 

Nightwing was used to his old mentor's comings and goings. But even as it was, he barely had time to turn towards the Batman before the latter spoke. 

"Not going well, is it, Dick?" 

The younger manhunter shook his head. "Our version of the Battle of the Bulge, I guess. How's your group doing?" 

Batman pointed a glove. "We'll soon know. Geo-Force is spearheading a rear action over there. I have hopes for them." 

Solemnly, Nightwing said, "Hope they're justified. The Titans are doing all they can just to keep our side from getting plastered. If only we had Kal, or Hal, or Kara, or some of the rest." 

"We have Fate, Mist, and others of their caliber," said Batman. "They're not doing much better than we are. Mantis is the key, but as long as he has that power..." 

Dick didn't like it when Batman didn't bother to finish a sentence. "What about the JLA? The ones we've still got, that is?" 

"They're fighting," said Batman. "Just not so obviously, in some cases." Then, before he could speak again, his attention was drawn to some barely-perceptible streaks visible in the afternoon sky. Visible, and, unless he was mistaken, approaching at high speed. 

Two pairs of binoculars went to two pairs of eyes. Batman's hand immediately went to his belt and activated a radio. "Geo-Force," said a voice from its speaker. 

"Geo, this is Batman. Qwardians closing from above. Weaponers. Alert the team. Get them out of there ASAP and retreat." 

"Acknowledged," said Geo-Force. Then there was the noise of an explosion, and the circuit went dead. 

Nightwing wanted to swear, but held himself in while in the presence of Batman. 

For his part, Batman's hand went to his chest emblem and slapped it a certain way. The Justice League communicator came on. "J'onzz, code 1/4/7," came a voice from Batman's belt radio. 

"Batman, code 24/x/70," said the Gotham Guardian. "J'onn, the Outsiders are under attack by Quardian Weaponers. Thunderbolt men. They need help." 

"They will have help," said the Martian Manhunter. "The League will save them. What sector?" 

"Financial district. Get them out, J'onn. But—be careful." 

"Understood. Farewell." 

After J'onzz went off, Batman pressed a certain area of the JLA signalling device. This was designed to send a message to individual members. As long as the recipient was in the same universe, he would get the signal. This time, he was calling Superman. 

The signal, even through sub-space, would take some time to get to its destination. 

Nightwing, kneeling on the building roof that held himself and Batman, opened another radio channel. "Titans Tower," said a female voice. 

"Harlequin, this is Nightwing," he said. "Things are heating up here in Metropolis. Badly. Can you spare anybody in New York? Over." 

Duela Dent, long past her hero days but still volunteering to coordinate communications, answered, "I don't know, Wing. Things are still pretty heavy over here, last I heard. But I'll put in a call and see what can be done. That be all right?" 

"It'll have to be," said Nightwing. "Get back to me on this. And thanks, Duela." 

"You're welcome. Out." 

As he recalled, the Challengers, the Forgotten Heroes, and the Doom Patrol were striving to hold things together in New York, with some help from that Roman-costumed beefcake guy who called himself the Son of Vulcan. He ventured a look at Batman. The masked man was standing there at roof's edge, seemingly as impassive as a statue of Lord Nelson. 

"Think this might be our last stand?" he asked. 

Batman, looking out at the sight with his binoculars, took his time about answering. 

"We'll know soon enough, Dick," he said. 

Then all either of them could do was wait. 

-S- 

"So. What the hell do we do now?" 

John Constantine lit another Silk Cut off the tip of the last one he'd been smoking as he spoke. 

"Wish you wouldn't do that, John," said Baron Winters. "Those things shorten your life." 

Constantine turned on him. "Oh, yeah. As if anything else around here was gonna lengthen it! Bloody hell." 

"No need to use that kind of language around the boy, John," said Madame Xanadu, sitting cross-legged on Winters's drawing-room floor and placing Tarot cards in a pattern. "We're all under stress around here." 

Tim Hunter sat at Winters's long table, to which Constantine had brought him once before a week or two ago, and tried not to fidget. All that he had seen in the time since then had matured him considerably. But he still felt like a little kid in the presence of major-league ballplayers who had just asked him to take over for one of their heavy hitters. They said he had potential. But he didn't know that he'd get old enough to realize it. 

"Dr. Fate's out there fighting," he said. "Isn't there something we can do to help?" 

The Phantom Stranger bestirred himself. "We have done much to help. Already those whom I gathered together have accomplished their mission. Fate, Mist, Zatanna, Ibis, Isis, and the others of our brotherhood on the Earths are battling valiantly, and, in many cases, effectively. But such is not our burden." 

"Then what is?" said Tim. 

Dr. Occult looked up from below his hat. "Tim. Don't speak out of turn." 

"Maybe you can tell me what it is to speak in turn," said Constantine. "The Spectre's dead. We've got this crazy block war going on across at least four Earths–" 

"Five," said the Stranger. 

John's finger stabbed out at the man with the shadowed eyes. "And you've got all the power you'd need to help stop it! Maybe even to take out Darkseid, damn it to hell and gone. And all you do is stand around here and act like Bernard Montgomery, instead of bein' out there with the troops!" 

"John," said Dr. Occult. "Sit. Down. Now." 

"Nuts to you," groused Constantine. "Nuts to all of this. I'm ready to quit this gig, go home, and wait for somebody to solve the friggin' Equation and be done with it." 

"Even when you yourself may be the cause of salvation?" 

Constantine blinked. 

The others stood and looked at him. Tim did so with incomprehension. 

"Now what're you yatterin' about?" said John. 

"I must contact a number of persons in a number of places," said the Stranger. "One of them is our ally, the Swamp Thing. I will undertake that. But another one is the one whose mind was lost in your campaign, John. And you, and one other, must go to set things right." 

"I'll go," said Tim, suddenly. "I'll go with him." 

Constantine said, "Don't volunteer yet, Tim boy. Who's the 'other', Stranger?" 

"I must go to Metropolis and collect her," said the Stranger. "From the midst of the battle. I shall return." 

"Okay," said John. "Open channel D." 

The Phantom Stranger swirled his cloak about himself. When its motion stopped, he was no longer there. 

Tim Hunter said, "I still want to go with you, John. You'll need somebody else." 

"Don't be too sure you want to, kid," said Constantine. "This guy went all Jiffy Pop in the head from what I did to him. He ain't quite together, by a long shot. But what of him is, doesn't like anybody on our side." 

"Then you will need somebody." 

"He will have somebody, Tim," said Dr. Occult. "The Stranger goes to fetch her." 

"I don't care," said Tim. "He'll need me, too." 

Without a word, Constantine walked out of the room. Tim Hunter followed him, though Madame Xanadu called to him. He caught up to the trenchcoated man in another room, looking through the window at the afternoon Washington rain. 

"I'm going, John," he said. "No matter what they say, I'm going along." 

"Suit yourself, kid," said Constantine, not turning around. 

"John," he said. "I'm sorry I couldn't save the Spectre. I know that's got you down." 

"You did what you could, Tim," said John. "And that's not who I was thinkin' about." 

"Then who?" 

"Zatanna." 

"Oh. Miss Zatanna. Right. I understand." 

"Not really, you don't. She's out there, somewhere. Somewhere." Constantine turned to Tim, with a neutral expression on his face. "She's usin' the Craft to fight. The way I can't do. I've gotten into the most disgustin' habit of praying lately, Tim. I've been prayin' for her." 

"I'll pray for her, too, John. I will." 

"Thanks. I appreciate that." 

A pause. Tim said, "I could tell when I met her, John. I could tell she meant a lot, very much a lot, to you." 

John Constantine gave Tim the most sentimental look he had seen on the man, up to that point in time. 

"She was the greatest piece I ever had, Tim," said John. "A man does not forget that, and still call himself a man." 

-S- 

"Report," said Darkseid. 

The nervous attendant clutched his board with both hands. "Power still down 80 percent, Great Lord." 

"And being restored at what rate?" 

"It will...it will take 48 hours, my lord. No more than..." 

Darkseid looked at him. 

"36. 36 at the outset." 

"You will be held to that. What of the report from the hospital you received?" 

"It was...it was acknowledged that one of the invaders, the Supergirl, I believe she is called, intruded, interfered with an operation, and, according to the report we received, saved a life." 

Darkseid mused. "We need good physicians, especially in a time like this." 

"Oh, yes, certainly, Great Lord. In a time of war, all doctors are needed." 

"Choose the least important nurse and guard and kill them. Before the entire staff." 

"At once, Great Lord." 

Darkseid's eyes, so hard to read, became even more distant then. "72 hours," he said, to no one in particular but himself. "72 hours. Dismissed." 

The attendant did a fast fade. Darkseid, after a moment, got up from his throne. Kalibak tried to follow. His father turned, sharply, and Kalibak stood stock-still. Then Darkseid left the room. 

Mongul was still being dug out of one of the fire-pits. It served the idiot right, in Darkseid's estimation. How he had ever managed to carve out a galactic empire, Darkseid would never know. 

At least power had been restored in the capital of Apokolips. At least the mind of Orion resided where it should, within the brain of Darkseid. It was resisting his intrusion. But within 72 hours, it would be broken down, searched, reassembled. It would give up its secrets. 

It would give up one secret. 

The Anti-Life Equation. 

Before that, matters still had to be taken in hand. 

Darkseid stepped into an anti-grav lift and went five levels below the ground. He then went to another chamber, did not bother to acknowledge the guards who opened the portal before him, and hardly noticed the terror that the scientists on duty around the great hollow cube exhibited when they saw him. There was a long waldo protruding from the wall of the cube, and in its grasp was a red metallic ring, jointed like a wristwatch band. 

This would be dangerous. But hardly more so than the operations he had undertaken up to this point. One more thing had to be accomplished, even in the waning hours before victory, to insure such an outcome. 

He could do it. 

To the man in charge, Darkseid said, "It is ready?" 

The scientist said, "Yes, Great Lord. For your hand." 

Without a word, the lord of Apokolips went to a control board and did things. 

Inside the cube, a whirl of lights became visible. The power required for its operation strained the emergency generators of the city. The being at the controls looked on impassively. 

And then someone materialized within the cube. 

A bald man, with a mustache and a look of ruthlessness. He wore clothes of a kind not seen on either Apokolips or New Genesis, and he seemed disoriented. But his wrist was pent in the red band on the end of the waldo, and he seemed unable to break away. 

The grey-faced tyrant looked up at him and spoke. 

"Jax-Ur," he said. "Welcome to the service of Darkseid." 

To be continued... 


	28. Part 28:  Of Beasts and Battles

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 28 

by DarkMark 

Gorilla-City was a site of battle. Grodd had, for all intents and purposes, won. 

The isolated African metropolis, guarded for thousands of years by the null-devices of hyper evolved apes, had a location known to only a few humans. The first of them to learn it in this era had been Barry Allen, the Flash, when he aided King Solovar against Grodd, the evil super-gorilla with the Force of Mind power. Time and again Grodd had struck, and time and again the Flash, or an occasional other hero such as Superman, had helped put him down. 

This time, Grodd had help. 

Over the low-slung spires of Gorilla-City towered a titan not ever seen there before, whom Grodd had enlisted as an incredible ally: Titano, the super-ape. He stood over 40 feet in height, with a strength that dwarfed a regiment of Solovar's troops. Worse yet, his eyes blazed with the green of Kryptonite power. 

In his youth, Titano had been Toto, a chimpanzee sent into space in a NASA program. Exposure to a radiation bath from a pair of colliding meteors, one of uranium and the other of green Kryptonite, had totally transformed him upon his return to Earth. He grew into a gargantua, and even Superman had seemed powerless to stop him. It took the trickery of Lois Lane to induce him to block his deadly vision with a pair of lead spectacles, after which Superman hurled him across the time-barrier into the prehistoric past. 

But the skyscraper simian had encountered Superman and even Krypto several times after that, and had finally been brought forward to the present by the Atomic Skull, another one of the Man of Steel's foes. Superman had taken Titano to the Planet of Giants after that battle, and there it was hoped he would remain. 

Another of Grodd's new allies had taken a hand to see that he didn't. 

Mr. Mind, the green, bespectacled worm genius who had bedeviled Captain Marvel in two eras, had been assigned to Grodd's unit by Lex Luthor. It was he who designed a unit to transport Titano to Earth, where Grodd used his mind-force power to make the towering innocent his deadly tool. 

Mind didn't much care for Grodd, nor vice versa. But both of them put up with the other, for the sake of the operation. Thus far, they both had to admit that it had turned out well. 

A number of other scions of the city or intelligent simians had come to Solovar's aid, among them Bobo the Detective Chimp and Sam Simian. Right now they were holed up in a bunker with the ape ruler himself and a few chosen guards, trying to stave off Grodd's last assault. The only comfort was that Monsieur Mallah, the genius-ape member of the Brotherhood of Evil, had already been captured before he could be recruited for the enemy side. 

Mr. Mind, enconsced in a miniature flying-ship, buzzed aggravatingly near Grodd, as the two of them stood outside Solovar's bunker. A squad of mind-controlled apes were blasting away at the door with a power-ram. Already Grodd was sporting a self-designed crown, and grinning with his arms folded. 

"Ready to discuss surrender terms, Solovar?" asked Grodd. 

"What terms?" came a voice from a speaker in the roof. 

"Oh...you surrender, you sign over control of the city, I execute you. Like that." 

"Thank you. I will wait." 

Grodd shrugged. "Suit yourself." The ram boomed against the metal door one more time. It wouldn't hold for much longer. 

The little green worm in the flying ship tilted his craft skyward, catching sight of something in his radar. Then he swept by Grodd's ear. "Grodd," he exclaimed, pushing his ship upward to indicate the direction. "Look at that!" 

"What is it this time?" groused the primate of power. Then he saw it, too. 

A team of invaders, flying through the air towards Titano at speeds approaching disbelief. He had never seen them before, but, from legends he had heard in the human world, he knew of their existence. But they had not been seen for years, even by Men. 

No matter. They were here. And he had a weapon to use against them. 

"Titano," he raged, "at them!" 

The ape colossus was already sweeping the air with his green vision, and it contacted the flying band in midflight. Their number was made up of a white dog, an orange cat with a streak of white lightning down its sides, a monkey, a white horse, and a strangely humanoid rabbit in a red, white, and yellow costume. The horse, cat, and rabbit tried to form a shield in front of their fellows, but Titano's rays washed over them. The dog and monkey fell. Swiftly, the red-costumed rabbit flew down, grabbed each of them by the cape, and placed them safely on the ground. 

Titano stood his ground, as ordered by Grodd, and slapped at the horse and cat with his mighty paws. It should have knocked them away like playing cards. Instead, he was rewarded with a feeling of anguish that caused him to howl in pain. 

"Titano!" screeched Grodd in his native language. "Blast them again! Use your eyes!" 

It did no good whatever. The great white horse and orange cat slammed like cannonshells into Titano's chest, toppling him over, crashing him onto a plaza of vacated buildings. They regretted the damage, but super-hero fights tended to create such. 

The big bunny was tending to the dog and monkey. "Both of you okay?" he said. "All right, I've got dibs on the worm." 

Then he took to the air and bulleted straight at Grodd and Mind. 

The gorilla tyrant was quick on the uptake. He exerted all his Force of Mind powers and blasted away at the white-eared wonder, and managed to duck as his foe soared overhead. His flight path carried him straight into Solovar's bunker and smashed in a portion of it. Grodd smiled, evilly. The super-rabbit looked a bit confused. 

"He's done our work for us," said Grodd, still pouring on his mind-over-mind power to keep his foe off-balance. "Change of plans. Get Solovar out and shoot him." 

And then he gave a howl of pain. 

From behind, two pairs of canine jaws were biting him. One belonged to a white dog, the other to a brown dog in a black mask. 

It only broke Grodd's concentration for a split-second, but that was enough for his costumed foe to rally, spring forward, and smash a white-gloved, four-fingered fist into his simian jaw. 

The scourge of Gorilla-City dropped, and the two dogs barely had time enough to scamper out from under him before he fell like a lead sinker. His Force of Mind and consciousness went out at the same instant. 

Titano and the apes of the rebel forces felt a weight lift from their brains. Mr. Mind decided it was time to retreat. He kicked his speedster up to full blast and prepared to make connections for a transporter beam back to Brainiac's satellite. 

Unfortunately, and to his great consternation, a great white maw opened up before him, two jaws crunched down on his craft, and he was held there, safe but immobile. 

Worms of Punkus have their own varieties of curse words, and he used them all up on the horse that had swallowed him. 

Solovar, still in his robes of office, stepped as majestically as possible through the bent opened door of his shelter. A small group of guards followed. He looked in wonder at the heroes who were assembled before him, at the fallen Grodd and Titano, and the ape-rebels who were regarding their weaponry. One of them said, "Excuse me, sir, but did we really use these?" 

"You did," said Solovar, gravely. 

"Oh," said the ape, in a small voice. 

"But not of your own volition," Solovar added. 

The ape stood at ease. "Oh, thank you, sir!" 

"Don't thank me yet, there'll be an inquest." The ruler of Gorilla-City stepped forward, extending one hand to the rabbit, who shook it gratefully. He touched the head of the horse with the other hand, then passed the same benediction onto the three dogs and the cat, and ended with the monkey, who dressed in a blue and red costume. To the last, he gave his biggest smile. "Thank you, fellow primate," he said. "Are you the leader of this band?" 

A voice rang out in Solovar's mind. He can't understand you,> it said. But I can link us all up telepathically.> 

Oh,> thought Solovar. That would be acceptable. Which one are you? And for that matter, who are you? Please accept my gratitude.> 

I'm the horse,> the thought came back. My name is Comet. We're the Legion of Super-Animals. We were told you needed some help. A wizard got word to Captain Bunny when he found out where this worm in my mouth had gone. So...here we are.> 

"The wizard told me where to seek out this band, and they're a good crew, for nonanthropomorphs," said Captain Marvel Bunny. "I live on a world other than yours. But I've been here before, helping out the Marvel Family and your Superman." 

"Ah, Superman," said Solovar, aloud and in his mind. "So you are associates of his." 

Not all of us,> said the masked dog. I used to be the dog of Batman and Robin. I'm the Bat-Hound. I handled crime in Gotham.> 

That's only because I wasn't around there, Ace,> remarked the white dog beside him. They call me Rex, the Wonder Dog. Pleased to meet you.> 

I could put either one of you jokers in the shade, without half trying,> sent the caped dog. I'm Krypto. If you haven't heard of me...> 

Um. Sorry,> said Solovar. That cape connects you to Superman, does it not?> 

He used to be his pet,> the cat answered. I'm called Streaky, the Supercat. If you've seen Supergirl, tell her hi from me.> 

And I'm Super-Monkey,> thought the last of the crew. Who are you, ya big gorilla?> 

Solovar seemed a bit taken aback. Solovar, ruler of Gorilla-City,> he said. Thank you for your aid, small one.> 

"Sir," said one of the guard apes. "Do you want us to take these rebels into custody?" 

"In a minute, Aklar," said Solovar, with a bit of pique. "I'm having a conversation." 

Aklar and another guard looked at each other, but remained at attention. 

As I said, we're the Legion of Super-Animals,> said Comet. We're not seen on Earth very much these days. There are many other planets in our universe, and many of them populated only by animals. We make it our mission to help them.> 

Yes, well...good,> said Solovar. Are you all from Krypton, like Superman?> 

Only two of us,> sent Rex. Comet's an alien. The rest of us are from good old Earth.> 

The best ones,> affirmed Streaky. 

Shut up, cat,> said Krypto. 

As for who we are and what we are,> Comet continued, thousands of years ago, I was a centaur. I saved the sorceress Circe, of my world, from an enemy. She created a potion that was to turn me into a full-man, but her adversary switched it for one which turned me into a full horse. To recompense me for it, she fed me another potion which gave me super-powers, and enabled me to turn into a full-man for a time when I am near to a comet. Hence my name.> 

Krypto and I both came from Krypton,> said Beppo, the Super-Monkey, and that seemed to be all the explanation needed. 

Me, I got my powers from this chunk of experimental Kryptonite,> sent Streaky. Then all the Kryptonite on Earth got changed to iron, and I lost my powers. But my buddies wouldn't let that situation stand for long.> 

At our first meeting after the Kryptonite incident, Beppo and I sought out Streaky,> explained Comet. When we learned what had become of him, we brought him across time and space and had Circe dose him with the serum which had given me my powers. Now he is a true Supercat, without need of his X-Kryptonite.> 

I helped out Batman on a lot of cases,> said Bat-Hound. You wouldn't believe the kind of messes humans can get themselves into when they don't have a dog. But I was getting too old, too fast.> 

So was I,> thought Rex. Bobo, my chimp friend, was, too. Then we discovered the Fountain of Youth on a case. That brought us back to our prime, and I let Ace have a taste of it, too. We hooked up with the Legion shortly after that.> 

Comet said, When we first banded together to save Superboy and the Legion of Super-Heroes, they called us the Legion of Super-Pets. But we are not that. We are our own beings. I, who have been half-man, full-man, and full-beast, know it best of all. So we renamed ourselves the Legion of Super-Animals, and now we patrol the spaceways, protecting our own kind. There are enough human heroes to take care of the human worlds.> 

"Are there?" mused Solovar. "Sometimes I wonder. But what of you, O rabbit?" 

The costumed coney beamed. "The name is Captain Marvel Bunny. I was just a simple lad until I came across a comic book with a story about an absurd-looking creature with short ears and tiny little eyes. He turned into a super-hero by saying, uh, the name of a wizard. I tried it myself...and boom! I became a hero myself. Later on, I found out the comic had been planted by the old wizard himself. He felt my planet needed a hero, and I'm glad he chose me. Later on, I met the creature who called herself Mary Marvel. Then I met her two partners. We got along pretty well, and not long ago I took out King Kull to save them. I've had a long career, but we're pretty long-lived on my world." 

"GET ME OUT OF HERE!" rang out an amplified voice. 

Shut up, worm,> thought Comet. 

"Well," said Solovar. "We'll trust you to take care of the crawling one yourselves, and perhaps Titano. Can't leave him here. But there's one thing left to do." 

What's that?>, queried Krypto. 

"This," said Solovar. He grabbed Grodd by the armpits, pulled him up, and shook him. He didn't stop until Grodd's eyes groggily opened. 

"Yes?" he asked, still waking up. 

Solovar smashed him in the face and returned him to a position covering the pavement. He massaged his knuckles, smiling. 

"Much more satisfying," he remarked. 

-S- 

Snapper Carr knew, somehow, that Superman was about to appear behind him. He was right. 

Guess you never lose those old instincts from the JLA, he told himself as he turned around. 

Both of them were standing in a small museum section of Izaya's palace. The rest of the Losers' League were fraternizing with the Forever People and the Magic Squad. Snapper just wanted to be by himself for a bit, and he'd managed that for about half an hour. 

"Snap," said Superman. 

"You look tired, Supes," remarked Snapper. 

Superman walked a few paces inward, past a plexiglass case holding a helmet from the world of the gods who had come before the Celestials. "I am tired. Going to catch some sleep in a minute. But before I do, I wanted to say a couple of things." 

The brown-haired man, still in his civvies, looking as incongruous as a bum at a Park Avenue gathering, shrugged. "You've got the floor." 

"First off," Superman said, and hesitated just perceptibly before continuing, "I want to apologize for the way I regarded you and your unit earlier." 

Snapper put his hands in his back pockets. "Not everybody has to be on the power level of the Justice League to work, Supes. If they did, there wouldn't be a cop employed on Earth." 

The Man of Steel sighed. "All right, all right. Perhaps I deserved that, Snapper. But I thought...and I don't think I was wrong in thinking it...that you guys were in way over your head, in danger you wouldn't be able to cope with. I wanted to save your lives." 

"Thanks, I appreciate that," said Snapper. "But..." 

"Yes, Snap?" The sweat showed under the armpits of Superman's blue sleeves, and he vowed he'd take a bath and wash his costume before he sacked out. But he still wanted to work things out first. 

"But you don't seem to realize that everybody's got a part to play," said Snapper. "I mean, I felt like that was the trouble with the League. I didn't have a costume or a funny name, so..." 

"We let you in on a lot of cases, Snap," said Superman. He hadn't forgotten how the man before him had betrayed the League before, as a dupe of the Joker and of the Star-Tsar, though he, like most of the Leaguers, had forgiven Snapper. "Don't tell me you don't remember them." 

"I know, Supes," said Snapper. "I know that most of anything. Yeah, I remember Starro, and Doc Light, Starzl, and that 'I' thing, and the Alien-Ator, the Royal Flushers...heck, I could list 'em all. By heart. But then, after that Offalia thing, it stopped." 

Superman nodded. "You know why." 

"Yeah," said Snapper. "I fell in with John Dough. And I was wrong. But when Green Arrow dressed me down for thinking you guys were too high and mighty, too far above the crowd..." 

"Yes, Snap?" 

"...Why did he quit the League years later, for just about the same reason?" 

Superman folded his arms and leaned against a wall. "Probably for the same thinking. He only saw the ones like me, Diana, Green Lantern, and Firestorm. He ignored the ones like Atom, Ralph, Batman, and the Canary. Yes, even her." 

Snapper shook his head. "He came back, later. But I'm not sure I still buy the reasoning, Supes. To me, the League sometimes felt...well..." 

"Go ahead and say it, Snap." 

"Too self-righteous." 

"I doubt we've got a lock on that." 

"No, but that's the way it seemed, sometimes." 

"You're making this very hard, Snap. I wanted to see if we could be friends again, to see if bridges could be built instead of leaving them torn apart. But if that's the way you want it, that's the way–" 

"No!" Snapper's eyes blazed. "Don't you see, Supes? It's not the way I wanted it! It's never the way I wanted it! I never wanted to stop being friends with you. I just wanted to stop being your pet!" Before he knew what he was doing, Snapper had grabbed Superman by the front of the shirt and was sticking his face in front of him. "Look here. Do I look like Krypto? Have I got white fur and a dog's ears? Well?" 

"Cut it out, Snapper," advised Kal, counting to five million mentally. 

Snapper exhaled. "Up against the rest of you, what was I? Just another hanger-on. Just another groupie. The one you let tag along." 

"And you enjoyed it," Superman pointed out. 

"Yeah, I did, for a long time. Wasn't every kid in the world got to pal around with Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash, and all the rest of those cats." Snapper smiled, unselfconsciously, his hands off of Superman's tunic. Kal breathed a bit more easily. "I even liked meeting your cousin, when I built that Superboy robot out of those Kryptonian sled parts. But boy, was that a botch." 

"Wasn't your fault, Snap. That was Klax-Ar's doing." 

"Yeah." Snapper looked down. "At least I got to clue you in on that phony Star-Tsar. Even if the Arrow wanted to take me down for it." 

"GA is, as we both know, too hot-headed at times," said Superman. "But he's gotten better." Superman paused. "So where do we go from here, Snap?" 

"I don't know, Supes. I don't know if 'we've' got a place to go, anymore." 

"Do you still resent me?" 

"Oh, no. Aggravated, yeah. But I don't hate you." Snapper rubbed the back of his neck. "I still don't know what I'm going to do after this. Not professionally, I've got a job. Drawing comic books. But I don't know if the Loser's League is gonna go on." 

Superman nodded, but didn't say anything. 

Snapper continued, "It took Dev-Em to get us to our objective. I appreciated the help. But it just showed..." 

"Sometimes everybody needs help, Snap," said Superman. "Including me. When you guys saved me from the Kryptonite Man." He smiled, and touched Snapper's shoulder. "Without you, the Kid, and the rest, I'd have been in desperate shape. I'd have been the last one to admit I needed a hand. Before then, that is." 

The young man grinned. 

Superman said, "Also the bit with the Gravi-Guards. I need to thank Mind-Grabber Kid personally for that." 

"I'll tell him you said it," said Snapper. 

Superman sobered. "But I haven't got much more time to talk. Got to get some sleep, got to work on a plan of action after that. We've got less than three days before all of us could be Darkseid's zombies. I have a feeling a lot of the burden is going to be on Dev, Kara, and myself." 

"Are you afraid, Supes?" Snapper said the words before he knew he'd gotten them out. 

The man from Metropolis said nothing. 

"I'm afraid, too," admitted Snapper. "The stuff I've seen here, it's way over our heads. The unit could get killed, just like flies. Just like Himon." 

Superman nodded. 

"But I...well, maybe we've still got a part to play," said Snapper. "Isn't something still going on, on Earth?" 

"On at least four of them, by last count." 

"I want to talk with the crew," said Snapper. "If we could get back home, maybe we could lend a hand there. And afterward we'll figure out what to do. If there is an afterward." 

"There will be, Snap. It just matters in whose hands the afterward will be." He gave Snapper a big, impulsive hug. 

"Whoops, Supes! What is this for?" 

"Because you're still my friend." 

A few seconds later, the Man of Steel let him down. "I'm going to catch forty. Then I'll speak to Izaya about Boom Tubing you back to Earth. Keep out of trouble till then, okay?" 

Snapper smiled again. "Will do, Supes. Take care." 

Superman's feet left the floor and he went into a horizontal hovering position for an instant before he flew out the door. Despite all the mileage between them, Snapper Carr had to admit it still thrilled him every time he saw that. 

An instant later, he discovered his fingers were snapping. 

-S- 

New York City was reeling. The big action was in the Metro / Gotham area, where a larger army of heroes was waging war against Mantis. But the Secret Society of Super-Villains had long since opened a front in the Big Apple, and were holding on very well indeed. With the Justice League, Outsiders, and New Titans united in Metropolis, NYC had to make do with what heroes arrived...and with the help of ordinary cops, firemen, soldiers, and public-spirited citizens. 

But most of the latter category resorted to rescue work and trying to keep the super-ops away from ordinary people. The real battling was left to the super-heroes. 

Most of them had come in from duty in Chicago, and they were showing the wear. Nonetheless, the New Doom Patrol, the Challengers of the Unknown, the Forgotten Heroes, and various hangers-on were holding the line. Or trying to. 

But up against a small army spearheaded by the likes of Amazo, Brainstorm, Despero, Dr. Tyme, the Time Commander, General Immortus, Reactron, and a number of others (including also-rans and hangers-on like the Toyman and Prankster, who felt considerably out of their depth), it was proving quite tough. 

"We need the big guns," groused Robotman, ducking under one of the Time Commander's hourglass power-sweeps. "The Lanterns, the Superpeople, the Marvels. Where in hell are they?" 

"Four Earths to choose from, plus all of space," said Prof Haley, shooting a blaster that sent a mass of gunk over the Commander's hourglass, dampening its power. "It's not like you didn't know what you were getting into when you came." 

The orange robot with the human brain looked up, saw the flat, black, golden-haloed radio form of Negative Woman jousting in the sky with the radioactive Reactron. "It's just that we're always in over our head, Prof. Or seem to be." 

"Goes with the territory, I'm afraid," said Celsius, trying and failing to knock Immortus's skycraft down with a fireburst. "Just keep pluggin' till something opens up or help comes, I guess." 

Brainstorm, on a sky-sled of his own design, began to descend. The tall psionic helmet atop his head amplified his already incredible mind-power, and one blast of it was enough to scatter Prof, Rocky, Red, Ace, Robotman, Celsius, and Tempest. He grinned. Another one ought to be enough to do some permanent damage. 

A black-haired man with a well-trimmed beard, in a green shirt, orange pants, and cape, came to the fore. "I believe my talents are necessitated," he said. 

"Who in blue blazes are you?" snapped Robotman. 

The newcomer didn't bother answering. Brainstorm looked ready for a challenge, anyway. He made another bombing run from the sky, his helmet crackling with blue power, and sent a bolt towards the stranger that would have turned a normal human being into a pile of smoking grease. 

Instead, the green-shirted man concentrated, put one hand to his forehead, held his other out towards the attacking villain, and shot a visible power-burst from his forehead that struck Brainstorm's bolt, slammed into his body, and knocked him off his sled. He fell two stories to the ground, landing on the green part of a traffic island. He was hurt, but not injured. He was also angry. 

"Kiss your brain goodbye," he raged, preparing his assault. 

"Not today," said the other, and focused his power once again. 

Brainstorm's helmet blew up. 

The Challs and Doom Patrol members gaped for a second. Brainstorm was out, but otherwise intact. For a moment, they had respite. "So," said Tempest, "the question Cliff put still stands. Who are you, sir?" 

The strangely blank-eyed man turned towards them. "I am Ra-Man. Prince Ra-Man. Call me Mind Master, or call me prince of ancient Egypt. I am not as active as I once was, but in this crisis, none of us may keep quiescent. Has Eclipso been seen on this plane?" 

"Uh, no," said Robotman. "Not in this neighborhood, anyway. Wanna help with the rest?" 

"Indeed," said Ra-Man. 

That was as much as he got out before a blue beam from a clock-like helmet hit the lot of them and froze them in place. Robotman had time to see who had done it: a one-shot villain he had fought with the original Doom Patrol, Dr. Tyme. Within Tyme's beam, existence itself was frozen. 

The eight of them, including the immobile form of Valentina Vostok, Negative Woman's body, were sitting ducks. 

A towering form in a strange costume and a shorter man in a business suit came forward. "Nice going, Tyme," said Professor Ivo. "These may not be the Justice League, but they'll do for appetizers." 

"Then it is your will they be destroyed," said Amazo, the faux power ring on his finger glowing a deadly green. 

"It's all our will," said Despero, the alien enemy of the JLA. "Just get it over with, android." 

"Halt!" 

A voice rang out from nearby, and a pile of rubble was thrown aside by two mighty hands. The assembled villains gazed at a man in Greco-Roman armor, who looked bigger than any two pro football halfbacks amalgamated together. In one hand, he held a great mace on a chain. On his other arm, he wore a curved, square shield with a great red V on it, the same letter he bore on his chestplate and belt buckle. A high-crested helmet, boots, and a leather kilt completed his costume. 

To his credit, Dr. Tyme swept his helmet-beam in the armored man's direction. But his foe was swift enough to ward it off with his shield, and Tyme found himself frozen by his own device. 

The warrior looked serious and grim. "I am the Son of Vulcan," he said. "These are my allies. Yield, or I will strike. This is your only warning." 

"Is this somebody you know?" asked the Toyman, holding a seemingly ineffectual jack-in-the-box in his hands. 

"Shut up," advised the Prankster. 

"Impressive," said Ivo, with a sardonic look. "But I don't think you're from around these parts, so let me advise you: this fellow here is a being of my own devising. An android. His name is Amazo, and he has all the powers of the Justice League of America. I don't know if he's familiar with what they can do, Amazo. Why don't you show him?" 

The humanoid smiled with hatred and sent a green fist from his ring towards the hero. The Son of Vulcan caught it on his shield, but it drove him backward, all the way into the side of a granite-walled bank building across the street. He cracked the outer wall. It didn't feel good, even to a demigod. 

"Show him some more," said Ivo. 

Obediently, Amazo sped towards him with the speed of the late Flash, grasped his foe with the strength of several heroes combined, whirled him around at an incredible amount of RPM's, and threw him into the sky. The Son of Vulcan, armor and all, quickly became a blur and was lost to sight. 

"Should I go after him?" inquired Amazo. 

"Not yet. Do these others first," said Ivo. 

The great android approached the paralyzed Doom Patrollers and Challengers, decided Superman's heat vision would probably be the most efficient method, and began throwing inner relays to trigger his power. But before he could get down to business, his hearing, hyped by the abilities of both Superman and J'onn J'onzz, picked up on something. 

"He's coming back," said Amazo. 

"Then deal with him," Ivo said, exasperatedly. "Use a little initiative, will you, Amazo? When I order you to, that is." 

Amazo pushed himself into the sky and took flight, smiling in anticipation. Not of battle, but of destruction. 

But the Son of Vulcan was arcing back towards Earth through his own natural flight power, and the mace in his hand had been transformed into a gleaming sword. The great shield of his father was held before him, but even beyond it, Amazo could see the mask of grim resolve on his face. 

He tried to blast him with a power beam. The sword cut it in two, parting it to either side of the rocketing warrior. 

He tried to push him away with super-breath, or blast him with heat vision. Both of them failed, warded off by the great shield before the flying man. 

Well, thought Amazo, that left brute strength, among other things. With the power of the Elongated Man, he stretched forth his arms, ready to wrap them around his enemy and crush him once he came within range. 

With a shout not heard since the days of ancient Greece, the Son of Vulcan transformed his sword into a great battle-axe, raised his mighty arm, and let fly. 

The speed of the Flash should have enabled Amazo to dodge. The might of Superman and the Martian Manhunter should have enabled him to withstand the blow. 

But none of those heroes had ever faced an opponent quite like the Son of Vulcan. 

The axe smashed through Amazo's body, opening a great hole, scattering electronic and artificial-human parts to the pavement far below. The android's eyes blanked, sparked, and exploded. His body went inert. It fell over a hundred feet, striking the concrete outside of Rockefeller Center and flying apart from the impact. The artificial limbs separated from Amazo's torso. The gleam of the power ring on his finger faded. 

Professor Ivo had a dead android on his hands. 

Seconds later, the Son of Vulcan, weapon in hand once again, landed on both feet, straddling what was left of his fallen foe. With one swipe, he severed Amazo's head from his neck assembly. Then he lay it on the pavement and split it in half with his axe. 

Then he turned in the general direction of the remaining super-villains. 

Despero grabbed Ivo by the arm and hauled him onto his flying platform. "Come on," he said. "Strategic withdrawal time." 

"Oh, no, it's not," said another voice, just ahead of a powerblast that sent Despero's machine crashing to the ground. 

The Son of Vulcan looked up at a man in gleaming futuristic armor, standing on the roof of a nearby building. One hand was glowing with nuclear power. The other was grasping a defeated General Immortus by the collar. 

"Thanks for the help," said the Atomic Knight. "I think the tide's beginning to turn." 

-S- 

Izaya threw open the door of the chamber. Four persons were inside. Three were living. 

The mortuary chamber was Spartan, as fitted the New Genesis attitude towards death. On a hovering bier lay the body of Himon, eyes closed, hands crossed on his chest, as peaceful as he had ever seemed in life. 

Kneeling before him, in his red-and-yellow costume and green cloak, was Mr. Miracle. Behind him stood Big Barda and their friend Oberon, who had been summoned by them to their small wake and mourning. Barda and Oberon turned to see Izaya, but did not make a sound. Scott himself did not move. 

The lord of New Genesis stepped into the room, closing the door behind him, his staff rapping gently on the stone floor. "He will not arise, my son." 

Scott Free took his time about answering. "He will always arise. This is only another escape." 

"There are some traps, Scott, from which the only escape is death." 

"I will not accept that!" 

Izaya moved behind him, gently brushing Barda and Oberon out of the way. "You have no choice, Scott. The Racer has come. He is gone." 

Mr. Miracle turned the face of his yellow mask towards Highfather. The eyes within it were reddened by tears, shot through with anger. "The Racer can be escaped! Fastbak did it. Kalibak as well." 

The white-haired patriarch clasped his son from behind by the shoulders. "But Himon has not. There is no life within him, my son. Not even that which I could stimulate with an Alpha Bullet. He will be one with the Source. And one with our hearts. Forever." 

Scott looked at Highfather with terrible intensity. "He was my true father." 

Izaya controlled himself with an effort. "Then what am I, Scott?" 

"The one who sired me," said Miracle. "The one who traded me to Darkseid for a pact, and then left me in that hell of Granny's." 

"Scott," said Barda, warningly. "You overspeak yourself." 

"Let him," advised Highfather. 

In the shadows, Oberon drew a breath of relief. 

"I was nothing but a pawn," said Scott. "Just one of Granny's boy troopers, to be beaten, drilled, bitten by cavalry dogs, thrown through all of her damnable obstacle courses, and then to be beaten some more. At any time, you could have saved me, Highfahter." 

"And if I had," said Izaya, fingering his staff, "Darkseid would have declared war again. Do you think, Scott, that I was so callous as not to care for you? Do you think that, even then, I was not observing?" 

"I only know what I experienced! Metron it was who kept me sane, appeared like a ghost when I truly needed him, kept me from bowing to Granny's mind control. Himon it was who taught me to escape. Who found me, nurtured me, made me part of his underground. He was the one who gave me love." 

Izaya looked downward, slightly, in sadness. 

"He was the one who gave me the power to be Mr. Miracle," said Scott. "Time after time, they thought they had him. Time after time, they thought they had destroyed him. But it was always one of his android Followers. A duplicate. Like...like..." He gestured towards the body. 

Gently, Izaya said, "No, my son. That is not a Follower." 

"Don't call me son!" 

Izaya grabbed Mr. Miracle, turned him to face him with a strong grip, and looked down onto his face with the eyes of Moses looking upon the errant Israelites of the Exodus. "I call you son! And not even you may gainsay me that! Do you think Himon fathered you on Avia? Do you think Darkseid would have accepted the son of Himon as a foster son? Do you think I gave you with gladness, boy? Is that what you think?" 

"I...I think many things," said Miracle. 

"And not with anything but your heart," said Izaya, sadly. "And I can understand that. My son. My son, Scott. Do you not think, all those years, that my heart was not pierced as well by your sufferings? That Orion alone could make up for it? True, I love him. I love him all the more for having snatched him from Darkseid's embrace, for having made him New Genesite. But do you think–can you ever think–that he could take the place in my heart of my true son? Of you?" 

Barda had swept Oberon with her to the back of the chamber. For all his brashness, he was glad to be there at the moment. Izaya continued to speak to Scott. 

"Though I could not go where you were, Scott, I watched you. Even Metron did not know. Darkseid is not the only one who can observe from afar. If you had been truly endangered beyond your capacities...well, then I would have dared all. I saw you when you escaped Armagetto, my son. I saw you when you went to Earth, and met the man who gave you his name...Miracle. And, finally, you saw me." 

"Yes," said Scott, whispering. 

"When we saved you, and Barda, and Oberon, and Shilo from the minions of Darkseid, you saw me." 

"I saw you," Scott admitted. "And Himon was there." 

"Yes," said Izaya. "And so was Orion." He turned his face away from Scott. 

Mr. Miracle reached out a hand to touch his father's robe. "Orion. Forgive me, Highfather. I...I know..." 

"My foster son lies mindless and mutilated," said Izaya, still facing away from Scott. "His mind lies within that of Darkseid. It will yield to him the Anti-Life Equation, unless we stop him. Do you think, Scott, that you are the only one who mourns?" 

The man in the mask clasped the robed man to him and buried his head on his shoulder. "Father," he said. 

"Son," said Izaya, embracing him. 

Barda let herself and Oberon out quietly. Neither of them were noticed. 

-S- 

Kara was awakened from four hours of sleep by Dev-Em's shaking of her bed. "Up, Karaish," he said. "We've got business." 

"Ummmm, I don't..." She shook her head, not opening her eyes. "Dev...can't we put off the end of the world till tomorrow?" 

"I've gotten even less sleep than you and El," said Dev. "So keep your slaps to yourself, okay? There's been an arrival. We're needed." 

"Oh. Great. Who is it?" She swept back the covers. She noted she was still in her Supergirl costume, but her boots were sitting beside the bed. "Darkseid's legions? Tell them to give me a couple of minutes to get freshened up." 

He overturned the bed and dumped her on the floor. 

"Dev!" 

"Get up, get your boots on, and come with me." 

Kara groused, standing on one foot to put on her left boot and then on the other to don her right one. "I probably smell to high heaven for sleeping in my clothes. Well." She pulled her comb out of her cape pouch, rearranged her hair at super-speed, and convinced herself she probably looked at least presentable. "Okay. Guess I'm ready. Who is it?" 

"Old friends," said Dev. "Outside. We're wanted as a welcoming committee." 

She focused her X-ray vision, sent it through the walls of Highfather's palace, and saw in the sky outside the shape of a familiar circular golden satellite. 

"Oh, they're back," she said. "They made it. Where's Kal?" 

"Waiting for us." 

"Let's go!" She straightened her cape and flew out the door. Dev-Em followed in her wake. 

The two of them wended their way through the corridors of Izaya's palace, surprising more than a few New Genesites on the premises, until they emerged from the front door, bypassing the guards on duty. In the plaza out front, a number of New Genesis troopers were stationed, awaiting orders. Standing among them were the Forever People, the Magic Squad, the Loser's League, and Jezebelle and Bug. 

Apart from them, Izaya stood with Mr. Miracle, Oberon, and Barda, looking upward at the satellite. Superman and Metron were already hovering beside it. Supergirl thrust herself forward with a spurt of flight power. She and Dev were at Kal's and Metron's side in an instant. 

"Kara," said Superman. "Good to see you again." She thought he looked a bit tired, but that was understandable. 

"Have you used your vision on that thing yet, Kal?" she asked, floating several hundred feet off the ground. 

"Not thoroughly," he said. "Just a moment. I know it's the Monitor's satellite." 

"Yeah," she said. "But there's somebody in it who's going to come as a big surprise." 

Dev, training his own vision-powers on it, said, "Yeah. I think I know what you mean." 

Metron spoke through an amplifier to Izaya below. "Those within are our allies, Highfather. One of them is one of us." 

Izaya nodded. "Let them come," he called up. 

Superman rapped once on the satellite's outer wall. The hatch section opened. In the opening stood two women, one in a blue and red costume, the other in her characteristic short dress. 

Mark Moonrider, looking on, was the first of the Forever People to call one of their names. "D'reema! D'reema, you're back!" 

Beautiful Dreamer, standing beside Harbinger, looked down and smiled. "Hello, brothers," she called. "I'm grateful we all made it." 

Supergirl came up and hugged both the women. "It's great to see the both of you back again. Come on, let's get you on the ground." 

Harbinger smiled. "We have much work to do, Kara. But it's fine to see you again, as well." She and Supergirl flew towards the ground, gently. Beautiful Dreamer took up Metron's offer of a ride on his Mobius Chair, and came with him. 

Superman flew up and stepped inside the Monitor's satellite. "All right, everyone else," he started. Then he fell silent. Dev-Em came up behind him, hovering. 

Zatanna, Lady Quark, Pariah, and Alex Luthor were visible within, all giving their greetings to the Kryptonian pair. But Superman's attention was fixed on one other occupant of the craft. That occupant was as dumbstruck as Kal himself, at the moment. 

Finally, Kal had to speak. "Great Krypton," he said. 

"Holy spit," said Superboy. 

Dev smiled. "Welcome to this year's model, El." 

"Shut up, Dev," said Superman. 

-S- 

The New Titans, in Metropolis, were fighting off another outgrowth of villainry rallied round Mantis. They worked in concert with the Outsiders and the members of the Justice League who were present, but all had their hands full. Changeling, Wonder Girl, the Flash, Cyborg, Kole, Jericho, Starfire, Raven, the Hawk, the Dove, and the Golden Eagle fought off foes both familiar and unfamiliar to them, and tried to hold the line. That was all any of them could do, at the moment. 

Into this mix materialized the Phantom Stranger. 

Cyborg, facing off against Houngan, looked at the cloaked and hatted figure in astonishment. "Who in blazes are you? Ouch!" He grabbed his leg where Houngan had stabbed a corresponding place on a voodoo doll. 

The Stranger's shaded eyes looked out impassively on the black sorceror, who poised there with his electronic fetish, wondering how to treat this new factor. Then silently, the Stranger reached out his hand. 

The tiny doll in Houngan's hand now bore the features of Houngan. 

Then it blew up. 

Shrieking, the fetish master fell into a faint. 

"Much obliged, mister," said Cyborg, recovered enough to send a sonic blast into Plasmus, another foe. "Now who are you and what are you doing here?" 

"Cyborg, I know him," said Wonder Girl, lassoing Phobia with her Amazon lariat. "That's the Phantom Stranger. He's one of the JLA, kind of." 

Starfire, soaring down with a blast of flame that scattered some attackers, called out, "Have you come to aid us? Any help we can get is welcome." 

Solemnly, the Stranger walked to Raven, shoving aside an attacking Warp with an offhand motion. "I have come only for you," he said. 

The daughter of Trigon looked on him with astonishment. "Me? What for?" 

"We must heal a mind," he said. "And you are the one who must do it." 

His gloved hands reached out. Gar Logan, the Changeling, hopped towards him in the form of an angry green rabbit. "Hey, wait a minute! Nobody takes a Titan away in mid-battle, man. We need her!" 

The Stranger whirled without haste, reached out his hand, and caught the rabbit by the scruff of the neck. "And, Garfield Logan, I have need of you." 

Before even the Flash could reach the spot where they stood, the Stranger, Raven, and Changeling had faded from sight. 

"Oh, great," said the Hawk, pausing from pulping Mr. Esper's face. "Just great. We're two people down. What are we supposed to do now?" 

Then he, the Dove, and the Eagle had to duck low as a small missle loosed by Gizmo, the inventive genius of the Fearsome Five, exploded overhead. 

Hugging the ground, the Dove answered, "You had to ask, brother. You had to ask." 

-S- 

"It's incredible," said Superman. "Simply incredible." 

Young Kal grinned. "Yeah. I feel kinda the same way. You wouldn't believe how many comics stories I've read about you." 

The Man of Steel reached out once again, ran his hand over the chest and S-emblem of Superboy. "I've met myself, my Superboy self, several times, thanks to time tricks. I've even met parallel-world Superboys. But never anyone quite like you." He shook his head and smiled. "Do I seem as odd to you?" 

Superboy said, "It's very weird for me. Not bad-weird, just weird. I mean, a month ago, all of you were just characters in my comic books. Or my dad's comic books. Then I met Kara here, and Beautiful Dreamer and Harbinger, too. They were real. I almost expected the Three Little Pigs to walk up next." 

"They must've been in a different comic book," Kara snickered. 

"Kind of like finding a lost son, isn't it, El?" asked Dev, standing with one arm around Supergirl's shoulders. "The kid looks so much like you did back then, I catch myself wanting to tell him I'm sorry for getting him in trouble on Krypton." 

"Yeah, they called you the 'Knave of Krypton,' didn't they?" said Superboy. 

"Among other things," admitted Superman. "Things have changed since then. Thankfully. Have super-villains started springing up on Earth-Prime since your arrival, Kal?" 

"Not so far," Superboy said. "Mostly just crooks. Nobody in a costume yet. I've had to learn on the job." 

"That's good," said Superman. "That's why we decided to bring Ultraa from your Earth to ours, to prevent villains from springing up as a natural counterforce. We didn't think your world could handle them yet." 

"We?" Kal the Younger looked at him curiously. "And Ultraa? I heard the reports on him, but he vanished. He was a little before my time." 

"The Justice League brought him to our Earth," put in Supergirl. "The last I heard tell, he was still in Australia. Am I right, Kal?" 

"The Justice League was on my Earth? And I didn't get to see 'em?" Superboy looked disappointed. "Oh, well. I'll probably get to see 'em later." 

"Much as I'd like for us to keep this up, guys, I'm afraid we can't," said Supergirl, stretching her long legs out on the bench on which she sat. "As you've pointed out, Kal, we've got less than three days to stop Darkseid. If we're going to make an assault, we need to do it now." 

Dev said, "I'm for that, I have to say. He's got enough defenses, still, but you two shut down a lot of his power in that last attack. If we hit him, maybe the four of us can nab him before he snatches that Equation out of Orion's mind." 

Superman glanced towards the sward outside the palace where the Forever People were sitting, exchanging stories of recent happenings. The Magic Squad and Loser's League had been transported to Earth-One by Harbinger, who stood conferring with Zatanna and company apart from Metron, Jezebelle, Lightray, and Bug, the latter of whom made up a fourth party nearby. 

"We're still going to have to defend her," said Kal, looking straight at D'reema. "She's the only real weapon we've got. And Darkseid knows it." 

"Then somebody'll have to remain behind and guard her," said Supergirl. "I'll volunteer. But that still doesn't give us a plan." 

Superboy rested his hands in his lap. "Plans. What good are they against somebody like Darkseid? If he's got power that can stand up against us all..." 

"He's got power, all right," said Superman. "But it isn't just the power he wields physically. Each of us Krypts is far stronger than him, alone. His Omega Force could probably destroy us. Where Darkseid's power really resides is in his generalship. He can command forces. He's mobilized more troops even than the Anti-Monitor..." 

"Kal," said Kara, in a moment of premonition. "I feel something. Something very bad..." 

There was a sound like a crack of thunder. 

It reached the ears of the four Kryptonians before those of the New Genesites and Terrans. But only by a fraction of a second. All of them saw from what source the sound had come. 

The glowing circle of a Boom Tube had opened in the sky, not far from the Monitor's hovering satellite. A stream of flying figures was emerging from the end of it, with speeds almost beyond credibility. Twenty of them emerged in the first few seconds. 

Supergirl and Superman knew them by sight. Dev-Em recognized them from reports he'd seen in his days on old Krypton. Superboy, to his chagrin, realized that he recognized some of them from comic books. All of them seemed to have a red metal band about their wrists. 

In their lead was a bald man in yellow and green clothing. 

"Good afternoon, Kal-El," grinned Jax-Ur. "Nice day for a killing. Or four." 

To be continued...   



	29. Part 29:   Against the Zoners

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 29 

by DarkMark 

Two boys, a girl, and a man left their rent-a-car on the run, parked on the side of the road outside the Metropolis roadblocks. The cops wouldn't let them get any further. They found an overpass nearby and ducked behind it. No traffic was going through it, anyway. 

"Join hands," said the man, and they did. 

"All of us share the same experience," he said. "If we go in there, we have to face the fact that some or all of us may not be coming out. A force that can halt the JLA and the Titans in their tracks is something probably beyond what we've faced." 

"Say it again," said the taller of the boys. 

"But I'm going to lend them my hand," said the man. "Any of you who wants to join, do it of your own volition. Ever seen those old war movies where they say, 'If you don't volunteer, I'll understand'? Well, I'll understand." 

The girl said, "We're all in this one, Rob. It may be our last gig. But if we're going down...we're going down proud." 

"And together," said the smaller of the two boys. 

The blonde man nodded. "Okay. Then dial." 

The three youths brought strange metallic dials from their pockets. Two were disks with four letters each upon them. The other resembled a telephone dial more than anything else. 

They dialed. They were transformed. The phone-like dial was passed to the man called Rob, and he dialed as well. He, too, was changed. 

He smiled, looking down at his black-and-yellow costumed form. Giantboy was the first identity he'd ever dialed up. It seemed a fitting choice. 

"Let's go, crew," said Robby Reed, taking to the air. "Dial H for..." 

"HERO!" echoed the three. 

They took flight with him, and headed for the chaos of Metropolis. 

-S- 

Near the JLA satellite, a spacecraft warped into dimensional reality and began a slowing process. Two persons were its entire crew. 

"Scans show no one on board," reported the woman. 

"Which means we must scan the major population centers," said the man. "If this world is as much at war as ours has been, he'll be in action." 

"He is, after all, your brother." 

"Yes," said the man. "And we must hope very much that he is alive." 

"'Ware the flames, T'omm. He must be." 

The man had nothing to say to that. A mechanism on board began sweeping the surface of the planet below with a biological scanner which would register the presence of one of their kind. They felt some envy for this planet, whose population was so dense. Their own had been reduced considerably by the Great Burning of the past, which led to their emigration. 

Now, they were in search of one last survivor. 

They scrutinized the readout screen and waited for results. 

-S- 

Kal, Kara, and Dev had no time for anything but an instinctive reaction when the Phantom Zoners streamed through the Boom Tube on New Genesis. Luckily, it was the right reaction. 

The three of them sped over to the Forever People, surrounding them (most importantly, surrounding D'reema) on three sides, and raised their eyes and fists to the skies, defiantly. 

"Come and get it, you babootch-whelped bastards," said Dev, with a grim smile. "See how many of you die." 

"That's not what we do, Dev," said Superman, protecting Big Bear and company with his back and training his heat-vision upwards. 

"Maybe not what you do, El," said Dev, doing the same. "I don't know if the rest of us can be that fussy."   


"Cripes, Dev, you can't mean you're going to kill them?" Superboy looked at him with consternation. 

Dev looked at him hard, and pointed upward with his thumb. "Up there, lad. Do any of those look like they've come out of a comic book?" 

"My God," breathed young Kal, and flexed his muscles so hard it almost hurt. 

Looking up, Kara didn't feel like saying anything. Darkseid had liberated the Murderers' Row of the Zone, and then some. Twenty against three, and that was likely what the odds would be, despite the other heroes who stood beside them. Only she, her cousin, and Dev-Em were Krypton-class. 

It was easy to run a make on most of the Zoners. Jax-Ur, unofficial leader of the group. General Zod, his rival and right-hand man. Professor Vakox. Kru-El, their blacksheep relative. Cha-Mel, who had disguise powers in addition to his Krypt abilities. Dr. Xadu. Tra-Gob. Ha-Kor. Gra-Mo. Erndine Ze-Da. Zan-Em. Ras-Krom. Vor-Kil, the klurkor master. Ar-Ual. Zal-Te. Four other villains that were unfamiliar to her, but who had recently almost destroyed Earth-2: Badra, Mala, Kizo, and U-Ban. 

Plus one woman whom Supergirl had hoped she'd never have to encounter again in her life, the deadly Faora Hu-Ul. 

All of them were sporting the red metal bracelets, and she guessed that they were control elements of some sort. "Check out the armwear, guys," she hissed to the other three. 

"Already have," said Superman. "It's a binding on some form of energy-force. That must be how Darkseid controls them." 

The twenty were moving down in a phalanx. "Stand fast," said Superman. "In a moment...NOW." 

The four of them shot upward. The twenty Zoners shot downward. 

And both of them rebounded off a transparent wall in between. 

"Great Wall of the Source," said Serifan, looking up in awe. "Who did the force-field?" 

"Not us," Mark Moonrider confirmed. "I think–over there!" 

Zatanna had completed her backwards-spell and, looking on the results, was satisfied, though tense. "Definitely bad, crew," she reported. "Every one of those guys has the power of Superman. They're more than any of us can handle." 

"Not more than I can handle," proclaimed Highfather, and, striding forward, held up his staff. "Hail!" He yelled at the skies. 

Zatanna's shield only covered the small area of contact between the Kryptonians. Tra-Gob's attention was attracted by Izaya's posturing. "Looks like we've got a target," he remarked. 

Jax-Ur turned in his direction. "Tra, no. He's not our objective. We're here for the girl." 

"We're here for the girl, and anybody we feel like killing on the way," said the Zoner, and, kicking his feet, shot downward at the ruler of New Genesis. 

"Holy–" started Superboy, and made a rush to try to intercept Tra-Gob. Dev-Em managed to grab him by the ankle, and the recoil nearly jarred the teeth out of both of them. Young Kal started to ask him what the hell he had done that for. 

Then a bolt of pure whiteness arced up from Izaya's staff and knocked Tra-Gob out of the sky. 

"Oh," said Superboy. 

"Yeah," said Dev. "I learned about him already." 

Lady Quark was in flight, angrily seeking out a target for her wrath. Harbinger was shouting a warning to her, but she didn't care. There was still a lot of free-floating anger in her from having watched the death of her family and her world, and she wanted something to strike. So she picked out two of the three females in the group, Badra and Ar-Ual, and, raising her hands, let loose a stream of megatonnage that would reduce the average super-villain to a smoking potato chip. 

On Badra, it did seem to have some effect. The impact of the superheated atomic plasma caused her to cry out in pain, knocked her back somewhat. As a Hatorian, she was somewhat more vulnerable to such things. 

Ar-Ual, on the other hand, waited patiently for the blinding mass of nuclear heat to dissipate on her chest. When it cleared, she said, "Finished now?" 

The heroine of Earth-6 tried to dodge, but Ar-Ual's speed was too great for her. One open-handed slap across the face and Quark plummeted towards the ground, senseless. 

"Cigam, tsalb ruo seof morf eht seiks," said Zatanna. From her hands, twin bolts of power leaped, separated into tendrils, and struck five of the Zoners. Cha-Mel, Zan-Em, Zal-Te, Ras-Krom, and Erndine Ze-Da expected as little trouble from her as they had from Lady Quark. 

The five of them fell into unconsciousness so quickly they didn't have time to be surprised. The heroes and Celestials on the ground had to dodge their falling bodies.   


Harbinger took flight and headed for the Kryptonian defenders and the Forever People. Kara saw her and made way, slightly. She knew her objective: D'reema. With Lyla's dimension-spanning powers, she could get the girl to safety. 

But she never quite got there. 

Mala, the headbanded villain from Earth-2, slammed into her from above with both feet and knocked her to the ground, unconscious, possibly injured. Kara, facing him, saw it. 

Within a fifth of a second she had slammed into him broadside and was smashing away at him, screaming. Bruised, Mala sent a punch into her jaw and knocked her back. He tried to go after her, felt a pull from his shoulder, and turned his head to see Dev-Em. Dev shot two bolts of heat into his eyes. Mala screamed. 

Then Dev kneed him in the groin and finished him with an uppercut when he bent double. 

Kizo and U-Ban, the brothers of the felled Mala, tried to hit Dev from behind and instead slammed into an intervening Kara. All of them bowled into Dev and the four began a free-for-all on the ground, which lasted for a few seconds and several blows before Superman grabbed both Krypton-2'ers by the collars and slammed their heads together as hard as he could. Kizo and U-Ban went out. 

"Thanks, Kal," breathed Kara, picking herself up. "But what about D'reema?" 

The three of them heard Superboy cry out. 

He had good reason to. Jax-Ur, Kru-El, and Zod had gotten through and young Kal was trying to hold them off all by his lonesome. But he was much younger than the three Zoners, had less fighting experience, and was fighting three-against-one. 

They were beating him to a pulp. 

The only consolation was that they were concentrating on him, since he was the image of their hated enemy, and neglecting the Forever People for the moment. The Supertown quintet were gathered about their Mother Box, their hands placed on four of its sides (and on the bottom, in Serifan's case) and chanting something, with their eyes closed. Kara hoped they were about to summon some kind of power. Otherwise, it seemed like the dumbest thing to do on a battlefield she'd ever seen. 

Kal and Dev rocketed forward to save their partner. Kara attemped to do the same, but found her hair painfully gripped from behind. A familiar voice said, "Welcome, Kara. It's about time we finished up a little unfinished business." 

Faora Hu-Ul. The deadliest martial artist of Old Krypton. The woman whom she had once knocked out with a lucky punch, when Faora had been badly burned by a pyrotic Zoner. 

The woman who had never forgotten that incident. 

Kara slammed a fist upward into Faora's jaw even as the Zoner woman gave her a pinpoint strike to a vital area. It was a simple blow, but, suddenly, Supergirl's body became a world of agony. 

The punch had hurt Faora, too, but she was able to recover from it before Supergirl could do likewise. Curled into a fetal ball, Kara remembered numbly how the murderess had almost killed Superman with her deadly fighting tactics. She forced herself to push the pain away from her consciousness, tried to make her convulsant limbs obey her commands, tried to find a way to get up and fight for herself. 

Faora pulled her head back by the curls of hair at her forehead. Grunting in pain, Supergirl strove to activate her heat vision and send a bolt at her enemy's face. Then she saw Faora's free hand forked for a two-finger strike and knew that it wouldn't be in time. 

The fingers descended towards her eyes. 

She had time to think of Dev, and she had time to hear one uncanny booming sound from nearby: 

TAARU. 

It even made Faora hesitate for a second, and that was just enough time. 

There was a whooshing noise of great wind. A great orange hand grabbed Faora's striking hand at the wrist. The villainess exerted all her Kryptonian power against it. She still couldn't move. 

Faora Hu-Ul looked up at the towering figure who restrained her. He was orangish in color, clad in a mask-helmet and body armor of some sort, and Supergirl remembered having seen him once before, on a recent time-trip into the past. But, of course, Faora had never seen him before. 

"Who in R**-damned Sheol are you?" she demanded. 

The giant spoke three sentences. 

"I have HEARD. 

"I am HERE. 

"I am the INFINITY MAN." 

With that, he flung Faora Hu-Ul into the skies. Her screaming stopped being audible once she left the outer atmosphere. 

Dev, Superman, and Superboy, in the midst of Jax-Ur's band, took a moment from the fight to glance in that direction. They had seen the Forever People disappear and the Infinity Man appear in their place. Young Kal knew it all from his favorite Fourth World comic. 

"Oh, man," said Superboy, grinning despite his bloodied nose. "We're in for some action now!" 

The Infinity Man sprinted in their direction with incredible speed and, taking hands on Jax-Ur and Zod, pulled them from the fray and smashed them together. Both of the Zoners fell and stayed put. Kru-El, snarling, decided to get in a last shot at Superman while he had time. 

"No way, cousin," grunted Kal, and brought one up from the floor that connected with Kru's jaw and sent him flying. 

"Kara," said Dev, and flew to her side almost before he could finish saying her name. He took her up and held her as she fought to overcome the effects of Faora's nerve blow. 

"I'm all right, Dev," she managed to say. "But thanks." 

The eight Zoners who were left–Vakox, Dr. Xadu, Tra-Gob, Gra-Mo, Ha-Kor, Ar-Ual, Badra, and Vor-Kil-- were assembled together on the ground near the four Krypts and the Infinity Man. Highfather was coming towards them, and Zatanna was preparing to loose another spell. Even Alex Luthor and Pariah were about to see what they could do. 

Badra took charge. "We have been fighting like an undisciplined mob," she said. "Use your eyes. Blast the lesser ones!" 

"Not a bad idea," responded Ar-Ual. 

Eight pairs of heat-beams, rivalling the sun in their intensity, stabbed out at the surrounding heroes. Zatanna barely had time to throw herself backward onto the grass. Highfather raised his staff and deflected the beams which reached him, but knew he could only absorb so much. Alex Luthor simply opened the warp in his midsection and let the heat-rays pass on into another universe. 

Pariah, though, stood his ground, took the heat-vision of Vakox on his chest, and watched it rebound with fury against his opponent. The professor fell back, howling in pain, clutching his eyes. Kell smiled, tightly. "Would anyone else like to try?" he asked. 

Badra scowled. It wasn't going to be that easy. 

Metron appeared on the scene and sent rayblasts of his own towards the Krypt villains, threading them to as close the wavelength of green Kryptonite as he was able. It worked, to some extent. He at least saw the Zoners wince with pain. 

But that didn't stop Ha-Kor from surging at him and, before Metron could even react, smashing him from the Moebius Chair. 

Jezebelle blasted up at the attacker with her fiery vision, which did little other than warm his face. Bug tackled her, getting her out of Ha-Kor's path. "Stay down," he warned her, knowing that there was nothing they could do for Metron and scant more for themselves. 

Metron was unconscious on the ground in the midst of his chair's wreckage. Ha-Kor's mighty hand came up and began to descend, on a course towards his head. 

Seeing it, Supergirl kicked herself into action. She took flight, one fist outstretched, pouring on as much super-acceleration as she could. But her encounter with Faora had weakened her, and she knew, even as she blasted forward, that she'd be a fraction of a second too late. She unleashed her heat vision, hoping for a save. 

And before Ha-Kor's fist could connect, a paralyzing bolt of white power smashed into him, made his hair stand on end like that of an electrocution victim, and caused him to drop senseless beside Metron's prone form. 

Supergirl swept him up and threw him aside, then grasped Metron and carried him to Highfather, whose staff was still sparking with power. "Thanks, Izaya," she said, setting the New God at his feet. 

"Thank me not till the battle's done," warned Izaya. 

"Good advice," she said. The Girl of Steel streaked back towards the phalanx of bad guys. 

Ar-Ual flew out to meet her. "You're the one for me, Supergirl. I've never had the chance to smash your face to bits." 

"Oh, yes you have," said Kara, enigmatically, and soared forward to meet her. Ar-Ual gave her a quizzical look for a moment. 

Just before Supergirl would have contacted her, or vice versa, Ar-Ual did a fadeout. Kara cried out in surprise and, unable to stop in time, piled into the six remaining Zoners. She tried to fly up before they could recover, but Dr. Xadu grabbed her by the arm and hauled her back. "No need to run so soon," he declared. 

"Kill her," ordered Badra. 

Before the sextet could manage it, a flying wedge of three Kryptonian bodies slammed into them anew. Dev, Superman, and Superboy were followed by the Infinity Man, who held out both his hands and produced a shock-blast that scattered them all. 

Superman grabbed Xadu by the shirtfront. "You know, considering the numbers you started out with, I'd say you guys aren't doing so well after all." 

He punched Xadu in the face three times, quickly. Xadu sagged in his grasp. 

"See? Now it's just five." 

Vor-Kil slammed a flat chop to the side of Kal's neck with tremendous force, knocking him sprawling. "One is all it takes, Superman," said Vor-Kil, raising both hands for a power strike. "One is all it takes." 

Somebody tapped him on the shoulder. "'Scuse me," said Superboy, his nose still bloody. Vor-Kil turned, despite himself. 

From behind, Superboy kneed him in the crotch. 

"Kal!" yelled Supergirl, in anger. "That's dirty fighting!" 

"Sure as hell is," he said, poking two fingers in Vor's eyes, kicking him in the stomach, and kneeing him in the face. Vor-Kil went down. 

Superman came up, rubbing his neck. "That's one I owe you. But it's still dirty fighting." 

"Gets the damn job done, El," said Dev, coming up and punching Vakox with a right cross. "You might try it sometime." 

Badra leaped out at Supergirl, snarling, catching her from the front, raking her claws against the blonde's face. "Oh, Sheol," yelled Kara, more in anger than in pain, and slugged Badra in the chin. The Hatorian recoiled, but unleashed a blow of her own at Kara's stomach. Evidently, the unfamiliar villainess was made of sturdy stuff. 

"Blast the orange one!" Badra cried, trying for a stranglehold on Supergirl. "Reduce him to his component parts. One will be our objective." 

Supergirl's hands came up and smacked away Badra's choking grip. She followed up with a head-butt to her foe's forehead, which she hoped transmitted at least as much hurt as she received. Badra wound her legs about Supergirl's waist, and both of them grappled in the air. 

"You know, the more I do this, the more I find myself liking it," grated Supergirl to her foe. "And I really don't like that." 

"Ask me if I give a damn in seven hells what you like, woman!" 

Kara's hand struck at a nerve cluster in Badra's left thigh, causing her foe to cry out and loosen her scissors grip. Once freed, Kara grabbed Badra by both shoulders and delivered a knee to her labonza. As the Earth-2 villainess gasped for breath, Supergirl grabbed her right arm and wrenched it hard, dislocating it. Badra somehow managed to gasp in enough air to scream. 

Supergirl's elbow went back hard into Badra's face, three times. By the third, the Hatorian's head was seeming to roll on her shoulders. Kara regarded her. 

"Okay," she said. "I'm asking. Do you give a damn in seven hells what I like?" 

No answer. 

"Apparently not," said Kara, and polished her off with a blow to the chin. 

She turned, took a look at the battlefield, and regarded those who were left. Tra-Gob, Ha-Kor, Gra-Mo, and Vakox. It was incredible. Twenty had faced them, and only four remained. 

Zatanna knocked Tra-Gob out with a spell. Ha-Kor fell prey to the staff-bolt of a grim-looking Izaya. Gra-Mo tried sparring with the Infinity Man, and, one swipe of a huge orange paw later, found that he was outclassed. That left only Professor Vakox. Superman stepped up and grabbed him by the arm. 

"Superman," he said, nervously. "I am a scientist. Not a fighter." 

"You're also a Zoner," said Superman. "Sorry." He hauled off and knocked Vakox off his feet. The redheaded savant landed on his back, unconscious. 

Supergirl looked about her at the battlefield outside of Highfather's palace, at the bedraggled heroes and heroines, at Harbinger and Lady Quark being tended to by Zatanna, Alex, and Pariah, at her three fellow Krypts, and, finally, at the unconscious Zoners littering the landscape, each of them with his or her matching red metal armband. 

It took an effort, but she kept from crying out of exhaustion. 

Instead, she sighed, walked up to Superman, and put her head against his chest. He embraced her, gently. She smelled the sweat on his uniform and felt the tired up-and-down of his chest. It was nice to be with him. Even in a situation such as this. Especially this. 

"Kal," she said. "Why? What was it for?" 

Stroking the back of her head, Kal said, "Well, most likely, for D'reema. But they didn't get her. Is that what you were asking?" 

"I guess," she said. "I'm too tired to get existential. We really beat them, didn't we?" 

"With a little help from our friends. Twenty-to-four odds was something even we couldn't have bucked." 

"I love you, Kalian." 

"Love you back, Karaish." 

"Put me down for that one, too," said Dev, trundling up with Superboy in tow. Young Kal looked to be limping a bit, and he sported bruises as well as his already-bloodied nose. Dear Rao, thought Kara, looking at him. How are we ever going to send him back to his parents like that? 

When Superboy noticed her looking at him, he smiled. 

Kara broke away from her cousin, bussed Dev on the lips and hugged him briefly. "You did good, Devian," she said. 

"Glad to know it," he said. "So did the kid, here." 

"He certainly did." Kara grasped young Kal by the wrists to guide him in front of her, then said, "Hold still, Kal," and went over his face and head with her X-ray vision. There didn't seem to be any evidence of concussion, which was good. His nose would heal at the normal rate, she judged, and though he had some mean bruises on various parts of his body (including his jaw and cheek), he seemed to have no serious wounds. 

"You'll be fine, kid," she said, patting a non-bruised part of his face. "Take it from Dr. Kara Zor-El, last medic of Argo City." 

"It was...it was hard," said Superboy, rubbing his jaw tenderly where he'd taken a hard slug. 

"First time against fellow Krypts always is, lad," said Dev. "Take it from me." 

Young Kal hesitated. "Um," he said. "Did I–" 

"You were a trouper, Kal," said Supergirl. "A real fighter. A real Krypt." 

"He was more than that," said Superman, walking up to him and offering his hand. As young Kal took it and shook it, Superman said, "He was a real Superboy." 

The kid's mouth hung open for a very long time. That is, until he and big Kal hugged each other. 

Dev glanced at Kara. "Sorta like having a son, I'd imagine." 

Kara looked at him, with an almost painful twinge of emotion. "Maybe," was all she could get out. 

The Infinity Man came near, and towered over the four of them. "It is good we meet again, Superman," he rumbled. "And good we meet your fellows." 

"Thanks, big fella," said Superman. "Just glad you could make it. I understand the Forever People had a hard time summoning you beforehand. How could they manage it this time?" 

"With my aid, Superman," called out Izaya, stepping towards them with his staff in one hand. "I boosted Mother Box's power with the might of my staff. We needed the Infinity Man in this crisis. Only by exchanging him with the Forever People could we keep Beautiful Dreamer out of the hands of our foes." He stood before the helmeted giant. "Hail, lost warrior of New Genesis." 

"Hail, O Highfather, lord of New Genesis," returned Infinity Man. Izaya held forth the tip of his staff. The Infinity Man touched it. A crackle of energy coursed along it, warming his hand in greeting. 

Mr. Miracle and Barda were on the scene, propping up Metron between them. "Father," he said. "Metron's okay." 

"My chair," said Metron, mournfully. "My chair is demolished." 

Izaya turned to regard him. "We can build a new one, Metron," he declared. "But we have other pressing matters before us." 

"True," said Supergirl. "Such as: we've got just over two days to stop Darkseid. And we have to do something about the Zoners." 

Zatanna said, "I think Harbinger and I may be able to help along those lines." 

And so it was that, a few minutes later, combining powers of magic and science, Zatanna and Lyla opened a small aperture from their reality into the Phantom Zone. A small patch of greyness was visible beyond. The Krypts worked quickly, chunking the nineteen unconscious Zoners into the cloudy realm. Then Zatanna said, "Praw esolc pu," and the hole irised shut. 

"Good thing there weren't any of the others around trying to get out," said Kara. 

"Lucky indeed," said Superman. "Also lucky Darkseid only chose twenty of them instead of the couple of hundred he could have. Even he must not have trusted himself to control more than that." 

"Faora Hu-Ul's still out there," said Kara. 

"Yes," said Superman, soberly. "At least she's not back here yet." 

"Probably saw what happened to the rest and decided to wait till another time," guessed Dev. 

The Infinity Man said, "I must leave. There is only a certain amount of time I can spend on this plane. But I am grateful to you, Highfather, for having helped release me. And I am glad to have played a part in this battle." 

"Yeah, well," said Supergirl, "we're kind of glad you happened by, too." 

The giant crossed his arms over his chest. 

TAARU. 

The five Forever People reappeared, their hands still on the Mother Box. They blinked, sighed, adjusted to New Genesis reality again. "Did we do good?" asked Big Bear. 

"Very good, Brother Bear," said Dev. "How's D'reema?" 

"Oh, doing fine," said Mark Moonrider, escorting the girl forward. She gently removed his arm, and, gingerly, began to walk towards Highfather. Izaya stayed where he was, silent. She touched his face, and smiled. He offered her the embrace of his staff arm. 

"Father," she said. "It has been too long." 

"Daughter," he said, "much, much too long." 

"Father?" said Supergirl, looking on in surprise. "Daughter? You mean–" 

"Yes," said Vykin the Black. "D'reema is Highfather's daughter." 

The embrace of Izaya and D'reema really should have gone on for a much longer time. But there were circumstances beyond their control. 

Such as the thundering BOOM which came from above. 

Supergirl and the others were barely able to look up before the shadows started pouring from the end of the Boom Tube from Apokolips. 

Like leeches of ice, they streamed forth in a stream that spread and reminded Kara of a black, black oil slick. She sped towards Izaya and D'reema, but wasn't able to get there before the shadows plated themselves about her body, as they did to all the others, and paralyzed her for a moment with the cold of a negative Hell. 

She gasped, cursed herself for her weakness, and struggled to break free or to even see through them. But they were wound about her many layers thick, and it took time to punch through them or blast through them with her heat-vision. With her super-hearing, she could hear screams and cries of pain, sounds of blasting, even the whisking noise of Izaya releasing his Alpha Bullets. 

It couldn't have taken more than twenty seconds. But that was an eternity. 

Then the shadows were withdrawn from her and sucked back up into the tube and, try though she and Kal and Superboy and Dev did, as tired and stricken as they were, they couldn't get to the end of it before it closed. They sped past the space in which it had been, fruitlessly, and circled back. 

They looked at the figures below them, many unconscious, most covered to some degree with the frost that was the shadows' trademark. 

All of their friends and allies were accounted for. All of them but one. 

Kara was the one who said it first. 

"They've got D'reema." 

To be continued...   



	30. Part 30:  The Captive Dreamer

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 30 

by DarkMark 

Steve Dayton, alias Mento, had sat in his helmet and costume for so long it was beginning to reek. 

When the Phantom Stranger warped himself, Raven, and Changeling into his mansion room, he stiffened, and stared at them like a confronted animal. Which, in a very real sense, he was. 

Changeling found that he couldn't emotionally prepare himself for the shock. The room was strewn with trays of half-eaten food and soda cans which, opened, lay on their side and stained the white carpeting. The room had a terrible stench, and he wondered if the house staff was even allowed entrance anymore. He guessed not. He also thought of Howard Hughes. 

"Steve, it's me," he said. "It's Gar. We've come...we've come to help you." 

Raven said, "Please let me through, Steve. I have come to try and heal you." 

Mento responded by standing up, pointing at them, making his dark-blue-and-gold headgear crackle, and aiming a killing mental bolt at them. But the man in the cape and hat stepped forward, held up his own hand, seemed to catch the bolt in his palm, and negated it. 

"Enough, Steve Dayton," he said. 

Mento spoke. "Who are you?" he said, in a cracked voice. 

"A stranger." 

The Phantom Stranger guided Raven towards him. "You will allow her to lay hands upon you," he said. 

"No," said Dayton, nervously. "No!" 

The Stranger just looked at him, and Dayton subsided. Shakily, he sat back down. Gar Logan went up to him, knelt by his side, and took his hand. "It's going to be all right, Steve," he said. "It's really going to be all right." 

Raven stood before Mento. "I will attempt a healing, Steve. I must lift your helmet off, first." 

"I! I, I, I, I!" He looked, again, like a fox facing hunters. But the Phantom Stranger spoke again. 

"We know what pain you suffered, Steve Dayton. When John Constantine made you behold the Dark—" 

"The Dark!" Dayton almost screamed. "The Dark! No!" 

"—it broke your mind. Now we must restore it. Let Raven remove your helmet." 

Mento was almost shedding tears. He shook, trembling like a man with a fever. Gar Logan's green hand tightened about his, and he hoped he could have a calming effect. Nonetheless, he did not resist as Raven's slim hands went to the stays fastening his helmet to the neck of his costume. She undid them and, gently, lifted away the helmet. Below it, Dayton's hair was greasy and matted. She ignored it. 

"Much has been required of you, Raven," said the Stranger. "You have saved the lives of two Supergirls, and helped save the life of Selina Kyle in weeks past. We are not ignorant of the strain it has placed on you. This must be done of your free will." 

Raven knew what the Stranger was referring to. She was the daughter of Trigon, late demon-lord of another dimension, and placing too much strain on herself might nudge her in the direction of her father. It was a deadly dance, but, in this, she felt she had no choice. 

"I do this of my own will, Stranger," she said. "And because he is my friend." 

With that, Raven lay hands on Mento's head. 

Gar and the Stranger saw her head snap back and her face contort as if the demons of Legion were running through her mind, as well they might be. The poison that had infected Steve Dayton's mind since the day John Constantine used him as the nexus of a seance was being filtered into her psyche. That seance had resulted in the fiery deaths of Zatara and Sargon, and, worse yet, from Dayton's viewpoint, had caused him to behold the very hand of Evil, the entity they called the Dark, and also that of the Light. 

It had driven him insane, and made him an enemy of the heroes he had once befriended. 

The Stranger himself lay reassuring hands on Raven's shoulders, and Gar wondered if he was somehow guiding her through the process. Dayton's hand was shaking in his as if they were in a California earthquake. Changeling held on with both of his own hands. 

The gauntlet had to be run. 

Raven cried out and screamed certain words. All that Gar could pick out was "darkness, darkness", and he was glad enough to leave the rest alone. He was glad he had never seen The Exorcist, or Raven might well have had to heal two minds that day instead of one. 

"Dad," he said to his foster father. "I love you. You've got to come through this. For me, and for you. And for the whole world." 

There was no way of telling how long the process lasted. But, after a time, Raven went silent, hesitated for a moment, and then collapsed back into the Stranger's arms. He held her, tightly, but not without affection. Her eyes were shadowed by her cloak, but he could smell the sweat of exertion on her. 

"Raven," he said. 

"I cannot speak just now," she said, with an effort. 

"Gar," said another voice. "Garfield." 

He whipped his head around and stared into the eyes of a very sane-appearing Steve Dayton. 

In another second, both of them had their arms wrapped about each other. They stood hugging each other for a very long time. Dayton was the one who broke the silence. 

"What's going on here, Gar? This place looks terrible. Just like I smell." 

"It's okay, Dad," said Changeling. "It's okay." 

"Raven," said Dayton. "What are you doing here? And who...I believe I've seen you before." 

The Stranger said, "What is the last thing you remember, Steve Dayton?" 

"I think...the beginning of that thing with Constantine," said Dayton, frowning. "All the other magicians. We were sitting down at a table, holding hands. I can't remember anything after that." 

"It is well," the Stranger replied. "We have another mission for you, Steve Dayton. But not the kind which Constantine sent you on." 

Silence. 

"It drove me bonkers, didn't it?" said Dayton. "Whatever he did to me, it drove me bonkers." 

Gar Logan, still holding his foster father, drew an uneasy breath. 

"The multiverse depends upon you, Steve Dayton," said the Stranger. "As Raven saved your mind, so you must save the mind of another." 

"Could it drive me back where I was?" 

The Stranger said nothing. 

"We...we'll be with you, Dad," said Gar. "It won't be like it was with Constantine." 

Steve Dayton made a decision. Gently, he disengaged from Gar Logan. Then he picked up his helmet, and held it in one hand. 

"Let me get a shower first," he said. "And then we'll talk." 

-S- 

On the fringes of the battle, Green Arrow's unit found itself in trouble. 

Like many of the heroes, those who had something in common found themselves fighting side-by-side. In this case, the group was made up of the Green Arrows and Speedys of Earths One and Two, Black Canary, and Onyx, the girl-warrior from Star City. 

The five of them were facing a troupe of villains who had coalesced for the purpose of taking them out. Among their number were Slingshot, GA of Earth-1's old enemy, who employed twin slings to hurl metal spheres with deadly accuracy and intent; the Rainbow Archer, whose skill with a bow was almost the equal of the Arrow's; Bull's-Eye, an aging villain from Earth-2 who had been the bane of that world's Green Arrow and Speedy for years, and who affected a clown costume along with his bow and arrow; Merlyn, the master archer and killer who had long been a member of the League of Assassins; the Velvet Tiger, an old enemy of Batgirl's who had improved her athletic and fighting prowess considerably and, eager for a win, was giving Black Canary a tough time; and Cheshire, the poison-fingernailed martial artist whose slashes Onyx was barely managing to dodge. 

The two opposing groups faced each other on a battlefield that was one of Metropolis's industrial parks. The heroes, for the moment, were on the defensive. 

"Stand up so I can kill you, Arrow," called out Slingshot. "Or would you rather somebody murder you from ambush?" 

The Earth-One Green Arrow, crouched behind a car with his Earth-Two counterpart, called back, "You feel like ambushing, go ahead, pardner. Just make it that much easier to turn you into a pincushion." 

The elder GA looked at him curiously. "You wouldn't really do that, would you?" 

Sotto voce, Green Arrow said, "Nope. I accidentally killed a man once and that's all I'm ever gonna do. It was terrible. But he doesn't have to know that, does he?" 

The old Green Arrow, still in his short-sleeved green costume, stuck his head and bow above the roof of the car momentarily and let fly a shaft. It blasted away part of the wall Merlyn and company were using for cover. It also earned him a considerable knock on the side of the head from one of the ball bearings Slingshot used for ammo, and a couple of arrows from the bad guys that barely missed. GA groaned and fell back. The Earth-One Ollie Queen caught him. 

"Damn," said the Arrow, noticing the blood from the scratch on the older man's temple. 

"I've taken worse," said the old Arrow, touching the blood flow with the finger of his red glove and looking at it. "We've got to hit them with a flanking movement." 

"Speedy One and Two are already tryin' that," said the younger GA. "It's about time we hit these suckers back, William Tell style." 

"I met William Tell." 

"I met Robin Hood. I've done time-travel, too." 

"Then let's go to it," said the older man. "Yipe!" The outcry was prompted by one of Bull's-Eye's arrows, which had gone right under the undercarriage of the car and had barely missed his leg. 

Young GA was burning through the lock of the car door with an acetylene arrow. "You know how to hotwire a car?" 

"Absolutely. I learned during the War." 

"One of these days I've gotta sit down and trade war stories with you. Even if you are a Republican." 

"Could we leave politics out of this till we're done?" Another couple of arrows shot through the windows of the car, making them brush glass shards off their shoulders. The door lock finally parted and young GA opened it carefully, staying clear of the molten metal. Old GA got inside, stuck his head under the dash, and, stripping wires with the sharp head of an arrow, had the Oldsmobile thrumming to life in a second. 

"Get in," he said. 

The two of them climbed in and set the car in motion. They headed it for the partly-demolished wall behind which at least two of their foemen crouched. Old GA drove and young GA rolled down the window on his side, leaned out, and shot more arrows at them. He glanced around for a second and saw the older archer using one hand to drive, with his head, arm, and bow out of the window. He was holding the bow with one hand and was pulling back the string with his teeth, in which he held the feathered end of an arrow. The old man let fly. 

"Man," said young GA, "I admire you." 

"You oughta see my kid," said old GA. 

The arrow arced over the wall and sent up a plume of smoke. Gas arrow, thought young GA. "Get ready to ditch," he warned. 

It was an apt warning. The denizens of the wall, Bull's-Eye, Slingshot, and Merlyn, came out from behind it, coughing, gagging, and crying. But Merlyn still had the capacity to notch a shaft and let it fly at the car's engine block. 

Young Green Arrow grabbed his other-self by the collar, threw open the door, and tumbled them both out to a rough, rolling landing on the grass-covered ground. He covered his partner and lay face down. The incendiary shaft Merlyn had launched into the car's engine caused the vehicle to explode. A bit of burning debris hit young GA on the back. He cried out. The older man brushed it away, then slapped his glove on the ground repeatedly to put out the flame. 

The Earth-One archer gritted his teeth against the pain of his burn, pulled another arrow from his quiver, and launched it at their foes. The tip expanded into a boxing glove which was inflated with gas from a small, hidden tank, at enough pressure to make the surface of the glove sufficiently solid. It contacted Bull's-Eye in the jaw. The clown archer went over backward, his legs flying up in the air. He hit the ground and didn't come up. 

Slingshot loosed another pair of ball bearings, which young Green Arrow barely managed to dodge. Merlyn had another arrow at his bow, and old Green Arrow could see its warhead. High explosive, to be sure. 

"You're dead," said Merlyn, with a businesslike tone. 

And as he said it, two arrows whooshed in from overhead, dropped two intertwining nets, and tangled both him and Slingshot inextricably. Merlyn, his eyes still tearing, swore loudly. 

"Watch the language, brother," said Speedy of Earth-Two, emerging from hiding. 

Speedy of Earth-One did the same and grinned. "That'll teach 'em to ignore the next generation." 

Old Green Arrow raised his head and looked at young GA. "What'd I tell you?" 

The Emerald Archer of Earth-One got up and gave the red-clad heroes a thumb's-up. "You done good, kids." 

"Not good enough," said another voice. 

The crew turned to see where it had come from. The Rainbow Archer stood on the roof of an industrial building nearby. He had a telescopic sight and an arrow with a warhead that looked just as deadly as the one Merlyn had been packing. 

He was smiling. 

But not for more than one second. 

A gunshot rang out. It struck the Archer's bow, demolishing it. The multi-colored maverick gaped for an instant, his weapon gone to flinders in his hand. As the deadly arrow dropped, another shot was heard from another direction. It struck the arrow in an impossible manner, sent it over the rooftop, and caused it to fall to the ground, where it detonated spectacularly but without harming anyone. 

Two men in cowboy clothes, complete with bandanna masks, rose from separate locations. Both had guns. Said guns were trained on the Rainbow Archer. 

"Advise yuh to put up your hands, ranny," said one of them. "If yuh don't wanna take one in the shoulder, that is." 

"Do what he says," advised the other. "My trigger finger's still plenty itchy." 

The Archer knew when he'd been licked. He raised both hands to the skies. "Come on down, pard," advised one of the gunmen. "You make a move for one of those arrows, you're gonna live to regret it." 

"Who the hell are you, anyway?" groused the Archer, starting for the ladder to the roof. "What've you got to do with the Arrows?" 

"Two of 'em are my partners," answered one of the masked men. "We go way back." 

"And one of 'em is my friend," said the other. "We worked together against the Doomsters. As for what our handles are...you can call us the Vigilantes." 

"My God," said the Archer, stopping stock still. "You're not..." 

"NO," said the Earth-1 Vig, emphatically. "We don't have a thing to do with that killer. One of these days, I'm gonna bring him down. But we shoot better than he ever thought of. Get it?" 

"Got it." 

"Good." 

While the Archer started to descend the ladder, the Earth-One Vig regarded his counterpart. "Bubba, you still sing country?" 

"Oh, yeah," said the Earth-Two Vigilante. "Not as much as I used to, but there's still a few honky-tonks that'll have me. Why?" 

"Ever think about doin' an album of duets?" 

"With you?" 

"Yeah." 

"Only if we get to do Hank Williams." 

Behind his mask, the Earth-One Vig smiled. "Try and keep us from it," he said. 

Young Green Arrow wiped his brow with his forearm. "Okay," he said. "Let's get these turkeys trussed and canned. Speedy, you'd better check back with the Titans. But thanks for coming on short notice." 

"Think nothin' of it, GA," said Speedy of Earth-One. 

"Think nothin'? I think everything of it, kid." Green Arrow slapped his ward on the shoulder. "You done good. Just like always." 

Speedy grasped his mentor's hand. "It's good to work with you again. It really is. Now, I'm gonna run." 

The two held their handshake for a minute, then released it. Young Speedy turned to Old Speedy. "Is this as weird for you as it is for me?" 

"Maybe," the Earth-Two Speedy allowed. "It's hard to imagine I used to look as young as you. But in a few years, you're going to look like me." 

"Yeah," said young Speedy. "That's why we don't call my team the Teen Titans anymore. Want to come with me?" 

The older Speedy looked towards his mentor, who had tied a rag around his wounded temple. "Go ahead, if you want to," said Green Arrow of Earth-2. "Us old men'll catch up later." 

The two Speedys headed off to another part of the battle. "Old men," scoffed Green Arrow of Earth-1. 

"Not getting any younger," said the Earth-2 Arrow. "But I like your style." 

"Yours, too," said GA. "Except for that old outfit. I ditched mine a long time ago." 

"At least this way they can tell us apart." 

"I imagine," said young Green Arrow. "Hope you've got enough handcuff arrows on hand. We need to get these types clamped jig-time. I've gotta find out what happened to Pretty Bird." 

"If you want, the Vigilantes and I can take care of these." 

"The Canary ought to be able to take care of herself," said GA. After a pause, he added, "Let's get 'em done quick. Then I'll check on her." 

-S- 

Abby Cable was used to the unexpected in her part of the swamp, but that didn't mean she ever got used to it. And she never liked John Constantine. Even if he had some kid whom she'd never seen in tow. 

"Get out of here now," she said, standing in the front door of their shack. 

Constantine, sweaty in the trenchcoat Tim had never seen him take off, mopped his face with a handkerchief. "Abby, is that any way to talk to an old mate who helped your hubby save the universe?" 

"No, but the way I should talk to you I can't do in front of children," Abby shot back, standing there in her cutoffs and red T-shirt. "Alec is not at home to you. Now go away." 

"Can't," said John, standing at the foot of the steps, patiently. "He's necessary. We have to speak with him. Ring him up for us, would you?" 

"Get the hell out!" 

Tim Hunter stepped up. "Ma'am, if you please," he said. "All hell is breaking loose, and I've seen it. Personally." 

"So have I," said Abby. "I'm looking at it right now. He's wearing a sweaty trenchcoat and has a pack of cigarettes in his pocket and he's something I'm not going to talk about as long as you're around, sonny. And if you have any sense you'll get away from him as quick as you can and forget you ever saw him." 

"I can't," he said. "He's my friend. Lady, I just watched the Spectre die. Have you ever heard of him?" 

Abby started. 

From behind them, they heard a rustling. And then a voice. "The Spectre...is dead?" 

Tim and John turned to see a manlike shape grown from Spanish moss, with two red eyes and a V-shaped shelf over his nose and mouth. John thought about lighting up one of his Silk Cuts, then thought better of it. 

"Well, technically, he's been that for over 40 years," said Constantine. "But this time, he's gone Beyond. Good to see you again, Swamp." 

"Holy crow," said Tim, in a tone of wonder. "Is this the guy you told me about? The plant elemental? The Swamp Thing?" 

"The very same," said Constantine. "Permit me to intro my young friend, Tim Hunter. He's one of us, with a lot of potential. Occult, the Stranger, and I have been showin' him the ropes." 

"Be careful...one of them...is not about...your neck, Constantine," rumbled the Swamp Thing. "I have been...in Atlantis. I know...of that which...disturbs the Multiverse." 

"I was there, in the room where Jim Coracle died," Tim burst out. "They sent me to another place to try and save the Spectre. But I couldn't. That Dr. Fate bloke and another guy were fighting over him, and he just ended up turning into smoke and blowing away." 

"What in hell have you been getting this kid into, Constantine?" demanded Abby. 

"No more 'n' any of the rest of us have been into, darlin'," shot back John. "Don't you know there's a war on? Since the last time you saw me, I've logged travelers' miles in the future, got back here, helped give Tim his orientation, and then got locked into this thing with the rest of the boys. Now the Stranger says that Swamp here is one of the few blokes that can help us. It ain't about us. It's about if he doesn't help, all of us are gonna be zombies in short order. And the papa houngan is gonna be Darkseid. Ever heard of him before?" 

There was silence for a moment. Then the Swamp Thing spoke. "Are these things...true?" 

"They're true, Mr., uh," said Tim, hesitantly. 

"Call him Alec," said Abby, tiredly. 

"You have...placed me...in desperate circumstances...before, Constantine," said the Swamp Thing. 

"I know," said John. "And you came through, Swamp. Like a champ." 

"You have...taken me away...from my woman before," the Swamp Thing continued. "I have...been dissolved...by nuclear waste. I have...faced horrors...without numbering. I have...faced the Dark...and survived. Barely." 

"So have I, Swamp," said John, quietly. "Twice." 

"And yet," said the plant-man, "I have never...known you for...a liar. If...this situation...requires me...what is...my part?" 

"Alec, no!" Abby exclaimed. "You've just gotten back." 

Constantine looked at her with as much gentleness as he could summon. "I'm sorry, love. Really, I am. But your husband's a soldier as much as any of us. And soldiers get called up on short notice." 

Tim Hunter looked on the scene and felt sudden pain on Abby's behalf. He stepped up and put his hand on her shoulder, which was comfortably soft and warm. "I'm sorry for you, ma'am," he said. "The Stranger said we should come get Mr. Alec. If he hadn't said so, we wouldn't have come here." 

Abby said, sadly, "Be sorry for yourself, son. And sorry for my husband. Any time this idiot wants a fifth for world-saving, he always comes here. The next time, I'm going to come after him with a rolling pin or a meat cleaver, whichever is closest to hand." 

"That's my girl," said Constantine, with a smile. 

"And then I'm going to do the same thing to Alec for being such a nitwit!" 

The Swamp Thing uprooted his feet and ambled over to Abby. "I must leave," he said. "I regret it...Abby." 

"Just go, Alec," she said, turning away from him. "Just go." 

"No," said the Swamp Thing, taking her by the shoulder and turning her around. "Not before...this." 

He clasped her to him with the power of an oak tree, but gently. Abby resisted for a moment, and then returned his embrace, running her hands over his leafy back. Tim looked on, gape-mouthed. Constantine touched his shoulder. "Give the couple some privacy, chum." 

"That...will not...be necessary...Constantine," the Swamp Thing said, loosening his grip on Abby. "I shall...return." 

With that, his body collapsed into a pile of leaves and roots. Abby sighed and crossed her arms. She knew who'd be left to shovel all this off the porch.   
Out of that, a small, six-inch Swamp Thing walked. Tim couldn't manage to speak for astonishment. John Constantine knelt down on one knee and let the miniature elemental walk into his hand. The tiny Swamp Thing turned his head and, in a piping voice, said, "Goodbye...Abby." Then Constantine popped him into his coat pocket. 

"Small economy size," he said to Tim. "Best mode for travelling." 

"Tim, your name is Tim, right?" said Abby, resignedly. "Are you hungry? If you are, I can fix you some dinner before you go. If you're travelling with him, you'll be lucky to eat at McDonald's." 

"Thanks, Abby," said Constantine. "But we'll be headin' back to Baron Winters'. He's got a dinner table that'd shame the Queen, and a chef they'd kill to get at Antoine's. We'll be all right." 

"What are you going to do now?" she asked, plainitively. 

Constantine looked at her. "Going to wait for a Lantern. 'Ta, darling." 

"Be seeing you, Mrs. Alec," said Tim, and waved to her with a sympathetic look. She gave it back. 

She watched the two of them turn and stride off into the swamp. She would have followed, but knew that as soon as they were out of sight, Constantine and the kid would probably be riding what Alec had said he called the Probability Highway. 

She hoped someday somebody would turn John into a dead armadillo on it. 

-S- 

Black Canary had never met the gal she was fighting before, but she was good. Too good. 

The Velvet Tiger, who wore an orange tiger-striped mask and costume with white trim, was an old enemy of Batgirl's, though Dinah had no way of knowing that and wouldn't have much cared if she did. What was important was that this bitch was matching her blow for blow, kick for kick, and move for move. When you were up in the Black Canary's league, that meant you were very, very good. 

The roundhouse kick she aimed at the Canary's head would have been good indeed if Dinah hadn't ducked it. The backwash from it made the blonde hair of her wig fly in the breeze. The Canary lunged in daringly and hit the Tiger with a palm strike to the diaphragm. The villainess responded with a palm heel to the jaw that racked the Canary's head back. Dinah tagged her with a kick to the ribs even as she fell back. Then she did a handspring that put her out of the Tiger's reach when the latter sprang at her. 

Panting a bit, Dinah found her back to a wall. She felt the cool of the concrete through her fishnet stockings as she regarded her foe. "Not bad, honey," she said. 

"I'm better than not bad," said the Velvet Tiger, both hands stretched before her and ready for business. "I'm damn good. And you're just going to be an appetizer before Batgirl." 

"Dream on," said the Canary, and flipped over her foe, catching her head with her crossed ankles as she went over. Dinah landed on her hands and jackknifed her superbly conditioned body, flipping the Tiger overhead and making her land on her back with a crash in the rundown lot that had become their arena. 

For a second, the Black Canary allowed herself the luxury of looking into the distance. Onyx was still sparring with Cheshire. But how in Heaven's name she had managed to avoid a deadly strike from those claws was beyond Dinah's knowledge. If and when she finished the Tiger, she'd have to lend a hand. 

That was enough of a respite. The Tiger was back on her feet. 

Dinah took a defensive stance even as her foe charged. She decided to try for an aikido bit, using the Tiger's momentum to throw her in a circular manner, but apparently she was wise to that. Dinah found her arm hooked and her body thrown for a loss. Before she could get up off the ground, its gravel and dirt pressing into her back, the Velvet Tiger elbow-dropped right to her throat. 

It hurt. 

For the instant that she was paralyzed by the pain, Dinah found herself picked up, hoisted bodily to shoulder level, and then slammed back-first across an outstretched knee. It was a wrestling move. A crummy, showy wrestling move. 

It also felt like she'd just about broken her back. 

The Tiger was grinning down at her. "This is the end of it," she said. Her hands went to the Canary's neck. Dinah gave her throat over to the Tiger's questing fingers, and felt their strength. 

Simultaneously, she summoned what was left of her own, and struck up at the Tiger's eyes. 

The Velvet Tiger shrieked in pain. Dinah hadn't blinded her, nor was such her intent. But she had hurt her, and managed to dislodge her throttling hands. The Black Canary, her back to the ground, struck again with the hard side of her hand, slamming it into the side of the Tiger's neck. With a little upward thrust from a knee, the woman was dislodged. 

Dinah stood, looking the worse for wear. The Tiger crouched, wiping her eyes. "I can still get you," she snapped. "Come at me." 

"Dream on," said the Canary, and snapped out a kick that slammed hard into the Tiger's abdomen. The villainess's mouth went open wide and all the breath seemed to leave her in one whoosh. 

Dinah grabbed the Tiger's arm and twisted it painfully enough to make the bad girl cry out. Through gritted teeth, the Canary said, "You've got style, baby. You've got strength. But what you haven't got is experience. I've got that." 

With that, she slammed an elbow into the back of the Tiger's head. The villainess cried out. Dinah repeated the blow, and then torqued up on a sleeper hold just for insurance. She kept it on enough seconds after the Tiger had gone limp to make sure she wasn't faking, almost up to the danger zone. Then she released her, and the Velvet Tiger sprawled in the dirt. 

Dinah stood, and went to a chainlink fence nearby. She leaned against it with her butt, bending down to grasp her ankles as she caught her breath. She put one hand up to her face, felt some wetness, and judged she had a bit of blood at the corner of her mouth. A decent amount of pain was throbbing through her body, now that she came to think of it. 

She knew she didn't have time to take account of that. Onyx was still in danger. She had to lend a hand. 

That was when the Canary's instints kicked in and she sensed the four figures who seemed to materialize from nowhere, like ninjas. She kicked herself into a pose of readiness and waited. 

One of the four, a redheaded man in a red short-sleeved shirt and loose pants, spoke to her. "Don't worry. We mean no harm. Congratulations on your fight." 

"Yeah, well," said the Canary, "I've got to help somebody out. So if you're not the opposition, maybe you could lend a hand?" 

The woman of the group, a cool, tall Chinese in a casual green outfit, regarded her calmly. "Your ally fights her own fight. She must win on her own." 

"Oh, the hell with it," said Dinah, and started off in Onyx's direction. "You can come if you want. If you're really on our side. If not, I may be tired and hurt, but you'll still be in for a fight." 

"That's what we expected, miss," said the one in the tiger mask. "But with you, not against you." 

Sprinting off, Dinah tried to ignore the pain in her side as she ran. She saw Cheshire kicking at Onyx, knocking her to the ground, and lunging at her with her deadly fingernails. The Canary knew that, whatever happened, she was going to be too late. 

Onyx struck upward with her silver boots and caught Cheshire hard in the chin, knocking her up and back. Then she delivered several more kicks, whirling like a ballerina, targeting the mercenary's face and abdomen. Cheshire was being driven back. Good for her. 

The villainess in green still gave a deadly sweeping kick that connected hard with Onyx's face and made Dinah wince. Then Cheshire tried still another lunge with her left hand, nails outstretched. 

From the back of her belt, Onyx whipped out a pair of nunchucks and snapped them forward, smashing them across Cheshire's wrist. Despite herself, Cheshire screamed in pain. Onyx brought the weapon across her foe's other wrist with deadly accuracy. Dinah didn't have to look to hard to know the villainess's wrists were broken. 

"I didn't want to have to use them," she heard Onyx say. "But you left me no choice." 

With that, she snapped a kick into Cheshire's jaw. It sent the Asian woman back and down. Onyx leapt on top of her, splaying her arms out with her legs and pinning them with her knees. She hit Cheshire three more times with her right fist, hammering away at her to make sure she was out. 

That was her status when Black Canary finally arrived. "Hey, BC," said Onyx, smiling through bloodied lips. "Who're your friends?" 

She looked about her at the foursome who had come with her. "I'm not sure," she said. "Maybe they can introduce themselves." 

Onyx pulled a knife out of the side of her belt and began to trim the unconscious Cheshire's fingernails. "If they can talk while I work. I don't like to use weapons less'n I have to. In her case, I had to." 

"Understood," said the redheaded man. "My name is Richard Dragon." 

Black Canary scrutinized him. "I've heard of you. The kung fu master. Strange our paths never crossed." 

"We tend to follow our own paths," said the woman. "My name is Shiva Woosan. You, of course, are the famous Black Canary." 

The man in the tiger outfit said, "I go by the name of Bronze Tiger. Dragon, Shiva, and me are pretty much a unit. I'm honored to meet you. You're known as quite a stylist." 

The Canary looked at the fourth of their group, a man in a multicolored costume with a mask that only left his eyes showing and a green hood-hat that stood almost as high as the riser on Adam Strange's helmet. "Guess that just leaves you." 

After a pause, he said, "I am the Ragman." 

"He's not big on words, but he appears to be pretty good with stealth and fighting," put in Dragon. "He just showed up while we were fighting Professor Ojo in another part of Met, and stayed." 

"He was invaluable," said the Bronze Tiger. "Count on it." 

"So how did you end up here?" asked Onyx, finishing the last of the nails on Cheshire's left hand and preparing to start on the right. "Metropolis is a big place. And this is a big battle." 

Lady Shiva answered. "I had heard that the Velvet Tiger was involved in a fight. I wished to see her progress with my own eyes." 

Black Canary's eyes widened. "Wait a minute. You mean to tell me that you were involved with that bitch?" 

"To be precise, I trained that bitch." 

Dinah found herself tensing. Onyx looked at her. "Let it go, BC. Believe me, let it go." 

After looking into Shiva's eyes, Dinah reconsidered. For the moment. She said, "So you came over there to watch just as she was trying to kill me?" 

"We didn't get there before the end of your fight," said Dragon. "If you hadn't pulled that save, I would have tried to intervene." 

"If she had learned more from me," said Shiva, "you would not have been in time. But congratulations on your win, Black Canary." 

"Yeah," said Dinah, with a trace of disgust. "Just be glad it isn't Batgirl you have to say that to." 

Shiva seemed to relax. "To meet Batgirl in combat would be an invigorating thing indeed. But business before pleasure. As your friend has said, there is still battle." 

"After we attend to the two enemies here," said the Bronze Tiger, "we'd like to see if you ladies would join us in getting back to the fight." 

"Count me out," said the Canary. "I'm going to look up my man Green Arrow and check on him. Thanks, though, I guess." 

"You can count me in," said Onyx. "After I finish up with Chessie here, that is." She carved another one of Cheshire's deadly nails off. 

Lady Shiva looked at Black Canary's outfit. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but did you not wear a different uniform for awhile?" 

"The blue suit with the headband?" Dinah ran a hand through the strands of her wig. "Yeah. But GA didn't like it all that much, and I have to admit I liked the old costume better, anyway. It was good enough for my mom, and it's good enough for me. Besides, it gives me an excuse to show off my legs." 

Onyx snickered. 

"Now I'm going. Best of luck, Onyx." 

"You, too," said the girl-warrior. "Say hi to Green Arrow for me." 

"And one more thing," said Black Canary. She looked at Shiva. "If I find out you've trained any more of my enemies, no matter how good you are, you and I are gonna have it out." 

Shiva smiled at her, serenely. "I will look forward to it, Ms. Canary. Luck be with you, as well." 

-S- 

On Earth-4, things were getting relatively back to normal. 

The super-villains that had been defeated by the Justice Force and Supergirl's team were imprisoned. The minions that had served Eclipso in enslaving a good portion of the planet were being rounded up. The lucky ones had prison to look forward to. A lot of them weren't that lucky, and paid the price from aggrieved locals. The authorities tried to stop such things. At least, they did most of the time. 

President Mondale received Peacemaker, Sarge Steel, and Tiffany Sinn in his office. The first named hero represented Justice Force. He hoped he wouldn't be recognized as Christopher Smith, a U.S. diplomat, under his helmet. The other two were CIA agents. Sarge had been the government's liason with the heroes for some time, though he was a stellar solo operative. Not too many enemy agents were eager to argue with his steel hand. Tiffany, one of the Agency's most beautiful ops, had been paired with Steel several times and made up in savvy and brains what she lacked in strength. 

"So. What's your perspective on this?" asked Fritz Mondale. 

"Speaking from Justice Force's perspective, pretty positive, Mr. President," said Peacemaker. "Eclipso has been neutralized and taken to another Earth. The rest of his crew is under wraps. So far, we've seen no backup threats, so we're crossing our fingers on this one." 

"As for his soldiers, we can report good results on that as well, Mr. President," confirmed Steel. "I've supervised some of the roundups and they're moving along decently. There have been some last-chance battles, but you know the details of those about as well as I do." 

Mondale nodded. A lot of this he already had data on, but he liked to keep the people he dealt with on their toes. "And yours, Ms. Sinn?" 

Tiffany, in a big floppy purple hat, a black dress, and black evening gloves, looked as incongruous as any visitor to the White House had since Elvis met Nixon. But for her, it was just work clothes. "I'd tend to confirm those observations, Mr. President. So far, my Euro and South American contacts seem to agree that without Eclipso or other backing forces, the revolt has collapsed upon itself." 

"Well," said the president, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "At least something's gone right for the first time in a month. Maybe we can get the education bill back on track in a few weeks. But I have one more big question, and it's for you, Peacemaker." 

The white-helmeted, brown-shirted hero returned his gaze coolly. "As you wish, sir," he said. 

"We've had interdimensional contact for the first time on record," Mondale continued. "Super-ops with power even beyond what we can muster, stepping into and out of this world as if the, the universal boundaries were made of Swiss cheese. My questions are: how do we know this crisis is over with on the worlds those other heroes came from? And if it isn't, how can we be sure it won't come here again?" 

Peacemaker gave him back a slight smile. "For question one, we don't. For question two, we can't. The Son of Vulcan went to another world with Supergirl and her unit. Until and unless he comes back, we don't have any information." 

"Hmm." Mondale considered it. "Do any of your ops have dimension-crossing capabilities?" 

"Nightshade has some abilities along those lines," said Peacemaker. "She can cross into the plane from which her mother came, and come back to our world. But I don't know if she can go to another Earth. Until very recently, as you know, sir, none of us had any idea that other Earths actually existed." 

"Would she be willing to attempt this?" 

"I don't know, sir. But I would advise that we need as many of Justice Force here as we can manage. We're pretty few in number, and..." 

"You have Captain Atom here, don't you?" 

"Well, yes," said Peacemaker, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "But, sir..." 

"Also Blue Beetle, Thunderbolt, that Question fellow, and the Sentinels, do you not?" 

"Mr. President, Nightshade is an independent operative," put in Sarge Steel. 

Mondale turned to him. "She's also worked for the government in the past. So has Atom. In this kind of a mess, Mr. Steel, I ask for all the cards I can get. Peacemaker, ask her to do it. On behalf of the government and the world. Get over there, get some facts, and get back here. That's all I want." 

"I'll deliver the message." 

"But Captain Atom stays here. We need him here. Is that clear, Peacemaker?" 

"Very clear, sir. Eminently clear." 

-S- 

J'onn J'onzz and the Red Tornado had been in the thick of the fight for too long. No matter how many foes they plowed under, it seemed that more took their place like the Hydra. The Martian considered the Earth legend he had read about dragon's teeth that, when planted, sprouted up soldiers instantly, and wondered if Darkseid somehow had access to something like that. 

He was the spearhead of the Justice League unit, or what remained of it: the Elongated Man, himself, Firestorm, non-member Firehawk, and Reddy. Superman was gods-knew-where. Hawkman and Hawkgirl had gone to Thanagar. Arthur was still in Atlantis. Wonder Woman was on Paradise Island. Green Lantern and his fellows were in space. The Batman was hanging back and directing operations, like Nightwing, at least for the moment. Zatanna was somewhere else, probably with Harbinger. Green Arrow and Black Canary had gone off to fight solo battles. The Atom was probably still with his tiny tribe in South America. Steel and Vixen, who had both quit the League, were fighting elsewhere with Team Metropolis. Vibe and Gypsy hadn't shown their faces in the current crisis, and perhaps that was a good thing. Gypsy was finding her life again as a normal girl, and Vibe had apparently given up super-heroing for good. The Flash was dead. The new Flash was still with the New Titans. 

As for the Phantom Stranger, nobody knew if he was really a member or not. And nobody seemed to know where he was, or when he'd turn up. 

Aquaman's old idea of a full-time Justice League was looking smarter as the battle wore on. 

"J'onn," said Reddy as he swept a horde of SKULL agents into his funnel-trail. "We make no headway." 

"Tell me about it," the Martian rasped as he resisted the magnetic force of Dr. Polaris and negated it with the heat of his Martian vision. "We are outnumbered. We just never faced our foes en masse before." 

Firehawk and Firestorm were duking it out with Killer Frost and Mr. Freeze, pitting atomic powers versus freeze-bolts. So far, they were holding their own. The Elongated Man was picking and choosing his foes, tangling and strangling those without powers or those who only used weaponry. But right now he was pinned down by raybursts from such weapons, and was scuttling away like a red-costumed, red-haired snake. 

Solving mysteries was beginning to look better to him than super-heroing, at the moment. 

J'onzz looked up at the Daily Planet building, not far distant. Mantis was still holding court there, and he was the key. Without Darkseid's personal operative to coordinate matters, and to hold the most powerful heroes at abeyance with his own parasitic might, the strength of the villains might be broken. 

He wasn't Superman, but he had to give it a try. 

The Martian Manhunter launched himself into the air. He dodged a few minor combatants, knocked others impatiently out of the sky, and attained the height of an average skyscraper. His Martian speed kicked in as he shot towards the building with the big globe and the Apokoliptic villain atop it. He regretted that he couldn't use his invisibility power without negating his other powers while he did it. That would be a stealth option that couldn't be beat. Nonetheless, he'd lend a hand against Mantis. 

That was the point at which a blue ray lanced down and knocked him to the street. 

J'onn J'onzz cried out at the force of the thing, a beam which exerted over a hundred thousand pounds of force per square inch and sent him over forty stories to the pavement, which he cracked. Not even a Martian could resist that, nor could he feel its impact, brief though it was, without pain. He gasped for breath, even as it winked out, and lay prostrate in the street between buildings and lines of cars. 

At least he had the position to look up and see the beam's source. A very familiar capsule, one which had come from his homeworld, one he had not seen in a good many years. 

A hatch opened up in its side, and three green figures descended on anti-grav belts, all of them armed, all of them known to him. All of them Martians. 

The first was Vulkor, he who had built this capsule and used it to stage an operation on Earth which Green Arrow, Speedy, and J'onzz himself had thwarted. He was looking on J'onzz with an expression of anticipated revenge. 

The second was the Marshall, who had claimed tyrannic rule of Mars not far back in the past, and who had started the Earth-Mars war which J'onn had barely managed to stop with the aid of the Justice League. He looked on J'onzz with a planet-sized load of hatred. 

The third was a woman, Bel Juz, who had betrayed J'onn J'onzz more than once and was currently the mistress of the Marshall. She looked on J'onzz with a lust for destruction. 

He struggled to bring himself to a standing position. Alone against them, he had little hope. But he was cursed if he wouldn't die on his feet, fighting the enemy to the end. 

"You are a long way from home," he managed to gasp, crouching. 

"We might say the same for you, traitor," the Marshall ground out. "It is fitting you die on an alien world." 

"You...sold out to Darkseid?" asked the Manhunter, managing to push himself up to a semi-stand. 

"Let us not call it that," said Bel Juz, giving him an infinitely cruel smile. "Let us just call it working in mutual interest." 

"Let us call it revenge, and killing," said Vulkor, levelling his weapon at the Manhunter. "And let us do it now." 

"Let us not!" 

The voice was a new one, and it belonged to a green figure who dropped from the skies directly on Vulkor's back and flattened him. J'onn looked on him with incredulity, recognition, and, finally, hope. He called out a name, hardly daring to believe. 

"T'omm!" 

The new arrival turned to J'onn, grinned, and said, "Greetings, brother," just before he pulled Vulkor to his feet and smashed him in the face. 

Bel Juz was about to train her weapon on T'omm J'onzz when another female Martian form landed on the soles of her feet before her, with pinpoint accuracy. She slapped the weapon out of Bel's hands. "Hello, Juz," she said. "Remember me?" 

Bel Juz glared and shot out a hand towards her, her fingernails growing into deadly claws. "I will not after I have finished with your face," she hissed. 

J'en R'ass grabbed Bel's hand by the wrist with one of her own hands, made her other hand into a fist, and slammed it hard and deep into Bel's gut. The Martian villainess gasped in pain and tried to bring up her knee and blast J'en with her vision-powers, but she was too slow on the trigger. J'en smashed her hard on the side of the jaw, and, when she fell, punctuated it with a blue-booted stomp to the side of Bel's head. The woman sprawled, as senseless as the war around them. 

The Marshall cursed himself for having watched the battles like a novice, instead of using the time to make war himself. He swung his Destructor wide in an arc, causing J'en and T'omm to duck under it. The ray-blast sliced T'omm's blue cape in half. The tyrant completed the sweep and began to backtrack, bringing it low enough to hit the two he faced in a couple of instants. 

But that turned out to be a couple of instants he didn't have. 

J'onn J'onzz pulled himself up from the street, leaped over the ray's arc, and slammed into the Marshall's upper body like an asteroid the size of Ceres. He bore the dictator backward, smashing the weapon from his hand, blasting him with his Martian vision, pounding at him with his free hand. The Marshall retaliated by kneeing him hard where it hurt, and then getting atop his back and grasping his head, trying to twist it into a break. 

"This is recompense for everything, J'onzz," he hissed. "For the war, for the humiliation, for everything. Today, you die." 

That was as far as he got before his words were choked off by two green arms snaking around his neck and squeezing hard. 

"You haven't been here...long enough...to know...what we can do here," gasped J'onn, and did some twisting himself. 

Before he could get very far, another fist crashed into the Marshall's face and kayoed him. As the enemy went limp, J'onn eased his grip. He looked up at T'omm with some irritation. 

"I beg pardon," said T'omm. "But I could not leave it all to you." 

J'onn let his foe fall to the street, shaped his elongated arms back to normal, and took the hand of his brother, smiling. "T'omm. It has been too long. Thank you." 

J'en came up to them and stood not a foot away. "And what of me, J'onn?" 

He looked at her, breathing twice, and then said, "Only this." He wrapped both his arms about her and kissed her as hard as he was capable of. She embraced him and kissed him back. T'omm smiled, and folded his arms, waiting. 

After a long while, the two broke their kiss. J'onn said, "You came here to aid me against the three of them?" 

"In part," J'enn said. "'Tis true, we did learn of their liberation by Darkseid. It was no hard guess to know that they would be sent here, against you." 

"But that is only part of it, J'onn," said T'omm, the only other surviving member of the J'onzz family. "The aftermath of the war with Earth, and of the Great Crisis, has left our homeworld wanting in direction. They need a hero to head their government, J'onn, a proven quantity. One who can hold us together in our time of separation. J'onn...we need you." 

J'enn said, "And I need you, O J'onn. Though we have been separate since the War, separate since your return to Earth...nothing could separate you from my love." 

He looked at her, holding her by the shoulders, unable to speak for a long time. 

When he did manage it, he said, "J'enn. I have been lonely." 

"As have I, J'onn. As have I." 

"There is...need...on our homeworld?" 

"Indeed there is," she said. 

He looked up at the Daily Planet building and placed an arm about her shoulders. "The battle still rages. It may seem local, but it is a part upon which I believe the entire Universe may turn. If you will help, if we can win, then, afterward, if there is an afterward. I will go with you." 

T'omm said, "You have our help, J'onn. You only need but ask." 

"And, once there, if you will have me, J'enn, I will marry you." 

"As far as my concern is, J'onn," she said, "we are already married." 

He looked at the three prostrate Martian forms on the street. "Let us get Firestorm and Firehawk to construct cages of flame for our foes. Then, if you will...we will challenge Mantis." 

-S- 

Beautiful Dreamer was scarcely aware of what had happened to her. First blackness, and unbelievable cold. Her Mother Box acted to keep her as protected as it could manage, but the shadow-beings' icy touch still got to her. 

There was a sensation of flight, then the noise of a Boom Tube being opened. She didn't have to guess where she was being taken. Desperately, she tried to invoke the powers of the Infinity Man, but it was of no use. 

Then she felt the pull of gravity again, and knew that they had emerged from the interdimensional space of the Tube. Her leather-booted feet felt stone beneath them again. As quickly as they had wrapped themselves around her, the shadows withdrew. 

She was in a throne room, and the figure on the throne was all too familiar to her. 

"Darkseid," she breathed. 

"D'reema," he said, in a not unkindly tone. 

She turned to run, saw a host of armed guards behind her, and formed illusions of attacking monsters that almost scared them into letting down their guard. Actually, she thought she'd done quite a good job on the illusions. The problem was the being behind her, who had gotten up from his throne and had his great hand on one of her shoulders. 

"Enough," he said. 

Reluctantly, she dropped the illusions. 

D'reema trembled at the touch. It was like feeling the paw of a great granite statue on her body. Darkseid had been likened more than once to a great stone slab of evil, and she believed every bit of it now. She flashed back to the time in which he had captured her, brought her to Earth, sought her mind for the Anti-Life Equation, and left her for Superman and the Infinity Man. She had been unconscious for most of that. 

She did not think she would be that lucky this time. 

"What are you going to do with me?" she asked. 

"If necessary, destroy you," he said. "But I would much rather have you as a slave." 

"Never." 

He looked at her and did not smile. "In less than 54 hours I will have Orion's mind broken down and its final components ransacked. At that time I will possess the Anti-Life Equation, and I will speak it. There will be no more resistance after that. Those who call me their enemy will, at last, call me their lord. And once again, harmony will rule the multiverse. I will be the conductor who strikes that note. It will echo—forevermore." 

"I can stop you," she said. "I have the Life Equation." 

"Yes, you do," he said. "Can you speak it?" 

She looked at him and breathed heavily. 

"As with Orion, your gift is locked deep within your brain, inaccessible," said Darkseid. "A weapon too deeply buried for the wielder to use. It is of no threat to me." 

"Highfather will beat you," she said. "He always has and he always will." 

Darkseid looked at her deeply, and she could not hide her fear. "Has he? Was he victorious when I had his wife killed? Was he triumphant when we fought to a draw in the Great War of the age past? Did he manage to save my son Orion from me? Or Lonar? Or all the other nameless warriors of his side who have perished in the wasteful conflict which he could have prevented by surrendering?" Darkseid paused. "Actually, I'd say I've done rather well for myself." 

D'reema looked about the throneroom. "You call this world doing well for yourself? It looks like a disaster area. Everything devoted only to industrialism, to militarism. Nothing for pleasure, nothing for beauty, nothing for, well, love. Nothing except brutal functionalism. If your people didn't need to eat, I doubt you'd even allocate enough land for farming." 

He stepped very close to her. "Apokolips is my image of beauty, Izaya's daughter. I live for the machine, not for the organic. I run it for the benefit of myself, and only secondarily for the lowlies. In that, I am more honest than most. As for industrialism, it is the only efficient way of production for an advanced society. As for militarism, surprise, my dear. I'm not in love with war." 

She whipped her head about to stare at him. 

"I repeat, Izaya's daughter: I am not in love with war. It is wasteful and inefficient. Lives which could serve me for decades are lost by the thousands, by the millions. On both sides. Murder, to be efficient, must be specialized. I would kill one target, rather than a thousand. But, like it or not, I am incredibly gifted at the making of war. I understand the deployment of forces and the ways upon which to attack simultaneously on many fronts, not all of them physical. I am a general. That is what I am. 

"That is the beauty of the Equation. It will allow me conquest without the wastefulness of war. That which I have not taken by force–yet–I will take with the speaking of a word. Or words. And finally, when the Multiverse is mine, when New Genesis is mine, when the Source is mine, I will attempt to restore Orion's mind to him. But he will be mine once more, my first-begotten son. My slave. As will be my adopted son, Scott Free. And yes, I will adopt you as my own daughter. But, thanks to your adopted status, it will not prohibit your marriage to Kalibak." 

"Kalibak!" 

"Kalibak," confirmed Darkseid. "It is to be hoped your genes can contribute the intellect that Kalibak lacks to your mutual spawn, while his strength will be conferred at the same time. Besides, Kalibak desires you. It will, in short, be a marriage of efficiency. That is the key to the new Multiverse, D'reema: not love, that tremendously unreliable quantity, but efficiency. The heart of the Machine." 

Beautiful Dreamer flattened herself against a wall, keeping as far from Darkseid as she could. "I will never agree to wed that...that beast! I will die first!" 

"No," said Darkseid. "You will keep yourself alive, hoping for salvation at the last moment. I will keep you under observation. If necessary, you will be restrained. And in the end, once the Equation is spoken, you will no more be able to resist my will than a cloud can resist the wind. I assure you, D'reema, this is not unlike an operation. It must be endured for awhile, but afterward, the health of the patient will be improved and assured." 

"Oh, Source," she said. "To call you insane would be an insult to the mad. You are nonfunctional, Darkseid. You set up your own falsities and call them truths. You live in a world of greater illusion than any I could produce." 

Darkseid almost smiled. "There will be no distinction between my 'illusions' and eternal truths in the New Order, Izaya's daughter. My will shall become be the Multiversal Will. Power belongs to he who can best wield it...and none wield it better than me." 

"The heroes of the Five Earths will stop you!" 

"I think not," he said. "They are too busy defending their own worlds. All this quintuniversal battle has been only a distraction, a moving of forces here and there, to keep them distracted, occupied, even entertained. Mantis defeated those arrayed against him on Earth-X. When I moved him and his forces to Earth-One, the opposition followed. And it had no purpose other than to keep them fighting a fruitless battle. Should the forces of the Earths win against him this very hour, it would make no difference. The only battle that matters is the one I wage in my mind, against my son. And I am winning." 

D'reema breathed like a trapped rabbit. "Superman and Kara will find you. Their power surpasses your own. Even you dare not challenge them alone." 

"Again, you would be surprised by my capacities," Darkseid answered. "But come. I have somewhat to show you." 

The fingers of granite closed about her smooth white arm. He pulled her along, and the guards gave way before them. Doors opened in their path. He took her down a hallway, through another checkpoint, and into a chamber full of machines and technicians. There was a large screen on the wall facing them. The scientists and guards hailed him. He paid them no attention. 

"Observe that screen," he said, pointing. "The sphere in the center represents Apokolips. What do you see around it?" 

She looked. "A...circle of green," she said. "And about that, a circle of black." 

"Indeed," said Darkseid. "The blackness represents the sheath about this world formed by the shadow-warriors. Every one of them now guards my world, forming a barrier of darkness and cold and negativity no normal hero could breach. I doubt that even the Kryptonians could manage it. But if they could, the circle of green denotes the inner defenses which have been erected. A system of low-lying satellites, broadcasting an aura of Kryptonite radiation about the planet. Should they penetrate the shadows, they would die nonetheless." 

D'reema was unable to speak. Darkseid said to her, "I will show you something more. I will show you the source of the inner circle's power." 

He dragged her along through another portal, past guards and doors which had to be unlocked by several means, until he brought her to an unholy of holies. Yet another chamber filled with machines. And in the center of it, a single person, his entire body sheathed and shackled, paralyzed by his restraint, but aware. His eyes showed horror. His mouth, filled by a contrivance of plastic sensors, was unable to speak. 

The Kryptonite Man's eyes beseeched her for help. But she had none to give. 

"We have other defenses than that," said Darkseid. "But this should do for the moment. Less than fifty hours remain. I need not attack. I need only defend. Now, I have a place for you." 

"Source protect me," murmured D'reema. "Source, be my strength." 

Darkseid, pulling her from the portal, laughed for the first time. "Within three days' time, the Source will be my strength. Come." 

He dragged her to another part of the underground Palace, a prison chamber which was no less efficient than its warden. Darkseid thrust her inside and stood in the doorway for a moment. 

"Keep her until the time of the Change," said Darkseid. "Make sure no harm comes to her, or harm will come to you." 

The woman within smiled. "You may rely upon me, Darkseid," said Granny Goodness, through bruised lips. "Granny will keep the little baggage safe." 

-S- 

Superman, Supergirl, Superboy, and Dev-Em looked on a similar screen within the palace of Highfather, and were not reassured. 

"He put up all that, in such a small time?" asked Supergirl. "Unbelievable." 

"Where Darkseid's concerned...well, fill in the blank yourself, Kara," remarked Superman. 

Izaya, standing nearby with his staff, said, "An outer layer of shadow-demons, an inner layer of Kryptonite radiation. Should we penetrate those, we can be assured there would be more defenses below that." 

Superboy looked up at him. "Couldn't you Boom Tube us in, sir? I've read where you can go just about anywhere with those things." 

"Kid," said Dev, gently, "just how long do you think you'd last under a skyful of Kryptonite?" 

Young Kal didn't say anything. Kara said, "You're getting a crash course in superheroing here, Kal. Don't feel bad about it. It's just on-the-job training." 

He grinned, and she put an arm about his shoulder. Superman was glad for it, as a reducer of the tension. 

"What about the Marvels, Kal?" Kara asked. "They don't have a Kryptonite problem." 

The Man of Steel rubbed the back of his neck. "They might be able to make it with a magic sheathing. But I don't know. According to that, the shadow-demons are over a mile thick. You know what they did to us already." 

"But we've got to get D'reema!" 

"Yes," he said. "And Darkseid. But we've got to make sure we'll be able to do something about them when we get there." 

"Oh. Could we be more obvious?" She turned away, piqued. 

"What about your powers, Izaya?" asked Dev. "Think you could punch a hole in that mess?" 

"Not for very long," admitted Highfather. "The intelligent ploy would be to Boom Tube onto the surface of Apokolips. But that would not enable you four to enter the battle. It would only be New Genesites against Darkseid's legions." 

"You seem to have held your own against them before," Superboy pointed out. "Even though I read about, I mean, the earlier war." 

"True," said Izaya. "But we need to mobilize all forces available to us. And the Source did tell us that the two shields, obviously Superman and Supergirl, were key to the conflict." 

"But it didn't tell us how," said Kara. 

"I'm going to call in Hal," said Superman. "The Green Lanterns are the force we need to counter that." 

Highfather looked at him. "Can they accomplish it?" 

"I don't know," Kal admitted. "But they're our best bet." His hand went to his belt buckle. Inside was his Justice League signaller, a device which operated even across the vast distances of space, and which could be used to call individual members as well as the team. After pressing the appropriate number of times, Superman spoke. "Pilot, this is KK. Do you read me? Over." 

"KK?" asked Dev-Em. 

"It's short for the Krypton Kid," said Kara. "Kal's code-name when he's calling Green Lantern." 

After a few moments, the five of them heard a voice from within a tiny speaker in Kal's belt. "This is Pilot. Go ahead, KK." 

Superman said, "We have a situation on Apokolips that must be resolved within 50 hours or less. The entire Corps, repeat, the entire Corps will be needed. Can you comply?" 

A pause. "Repeat message, KK." 

"We need the entire Corps, Pilot. We cannot penetrate enemy defenses. It'll be a job. Can you comply?" 

She heard Green Lantern hesitate only a second. "I'll put the question to the Corpsmen and the Guardians, if necessary. If they don't agree, you can at least count on me and mine." 

Kal said, "Appreciated, Pilot. But we'll need more than 5 or 6 on this one. There's a mile of shadows and a ring of green between us and the objective. We're less than 50 hours away from enemy touchdown." 

"That's ammo enough for a convincer," said Hal Jordan. "I hope. I'll be back to you within an hour. Where are you?" 

"New Genesis," said Superman. 

"Thought so. Hold on, hold on...KK, I don't believe this. Somebody else has arrived." 

"Who?" Superman tensed. 

"It's a friendly. The Stranger." 

"What in Krypton's name is he doing out there?" 

A pause. "I think he's asking about a ride. Talk to you later. Out." 

"Out," repeated Kal, and broke the connection. 

Kara looked at Superman. "The Phantom Stranger? In outer space with the Lanterns?" 

Kal nodded. "This thing has scope." 

"To say the least," said Dev. "But not much time." 

Supergirl sighed. "If we could only reach the Rokynians. Even Nightwing and Flamebird. But I don't think they'd be of any more use than we would." 

"Rokyn is out of phase with our universe right now," said Superman. 

"Which means they may have a few weeks before they have to become zombies," said Dev, flatly. 

Superboy looked at the three of them, and Highfather. "Don't tell me you're giving up! For cryin' out loud, Superman never gave up! Not when you were facing down Luthor, or Brainiac, or Metallo, or...or...any of them!" 

"Son, button it," said Dev. 

"No, no, it's all right, let him talk," said Superman. "Kal...Superboy...we're not giving up. Not by a sight. Never. But it'll take a little help from others this time. Persons with powers even Kryptonians don't have. We'll have to pray that'll be enough." 

"Prayer sounds like a good idea right now," said Kara. She held out her hands. "Young Kal, come here. We're going to show you a bit of your Kryptonian heritage." 

"My what?" Superboy looked befuddled. 

"It's a prayer circle," she said. "We join hands, and we chant to Rao. Come here and take my hand." 

"Not a bad idea," said Superman, taking Kara's left hand. He held his own out to Dev, who looked at it for a moment, then finally took it. Slowly, he held his own up to Superboy. 

"But...well, I'm a Christian," said young Kal. 

"So am I, on my Earth side," said Kara. "But this is about our Kryptonian side. Take my hand, Kal. Please." 

Superboy walked forward, a tad reluctantly, and took Kara's hand. She gave it a squeeze for good luck, and to reassure him. Then he joined hands with Dev. 

"Don't be so sweaty-palmed, mate," advised Dev. "Just think of it as church." 

Izaya looked on, silently, not uncurious. 

Superboy watched the three other Krypts close their eyes and lift their faces towards the skies. Kara was the first to speak, beginning a chant in their native tongue. O Rao, who gives us light and life,> she began. 

And hung the stars and worlds in their courses,> responded Kal and Dev, in decent harmony. 

To you we lift our prayers, in our unworthiness,> she said. 

And beg you cleanse our dark transgressions with your rays,> said the two men. 

Superboy didn't know what the words meant, but he maintained a reverent silence, and turned his face to the ceiling as well. Mentally, he began: Our Father, Who art in Heaven... 

The prayer went on for several minutes, and Highfather stood by quietly, noting the renewing effect of spirituality on the foursome. Even upon Dev, the most cynical of them all, and upon young Kal, who had never prayed in this manner before. 

He guessed that they were contacting their form of the Source. 

Kara finished with the Kryptonian version of "Amen", echoed by Kal and Dev. The three of them released hands. Dev touched Superboy's shoulder. "We're finished, kid." 

Izaya said, "Perhaps I should consult the Source myself, Superman. All knows, I could use whatever help I can receive." 

"You've got us, Highfather," said Superman, putting a hand on his robed shoulder. "For whatever good we are." 

"You have proven of great help indeed," said Izaya, walking away with him. "But I soon must prepare my own forces for what assault we can make. Even if we have to Boom Tube in at ground level on Apokolips, even without your aid, we must needs make the effort." 

Superman looked at him grimly. "If there's a way, we'll be there by your side." 

"One hopes, Superman. But what will be, will be." 

Dev and Kara stood holding both their hands, looking into each other's eyes. "Seems like these kind of moments are the only ones we have, luv," said Dev. 

She stole a glance at young Kal, standing apart towards the other side of the room, and then looked back at Dev. "Not always, Dev. We'll have time to ourselves, once this is over. I've got faith in that." 

"Faith's a nice thing to have," said Dev. "Then again, so's love. And in my case, banality." He grinned. 

She grinned back and nuzzled her head against his chest. "I'll take your banality any day I can get it. Know something, Dev?" 

"Give a penny for it. When I have one." 

"Don't think I've ever been in love with a man as much as I have with you. And I've been in love more than once. Or thought I was, anyway." 

"Mmm." His hands stole around her back. Superboy had his back turned towards them. "You think we should do this in private, Kara?" 

"There's more things we should do in private. If we have time. But...hang on, Dev." She released him, stepped from his embrace, and went to Superboy. "Kal," she said. 

He turned around, a bit red-faced. "Sorry. Guess I should have left the room." 

"Oh, don't be silly. Dev and I are in love, that's all. You have a girl at home?" 

"Well, yeah. Her name's Laurie Lemmon. We've been dating on and off about a year, I guess." 

She smiled, wryly. "Another double L. I might have guessed. She'll probably be trying to prove you're really Clark Kent within a month." 

"I don't think so," said Superboy. "Cripes, here we are, two days away from Armageddon, and we're talking about my love life." 

"Sometimes, those are the only times you have to talk about it," she said, seriously. "You get caught up on what your friends in the masks have been doing since you saw them last, just before you go into battle. Are you in love with her, Kal?" 

"Don't know," he said, looking at her. "But I like her a lot. I think she, uh, likes me, too." 

"That's good. And, Kal? When you go home, don't neglect her because of your other self. Being Superboy isn't a substitute for being Clark Kent. Take it from somebody who knows." 

Kal nodded, slowly. "Feels like a hell of a lot's been put on my shoulders in the last week. I was just Joe Local Superhero back then. Fightin' local crooks, and all that. Now it's been kicked up to a whole 'nother level. Kara, I'm scared." 

She guided him to a bench by the wall and sat them both down. "Don't blame you. We all are, Kal. That's part of what we are. What we do." 

"Big Kal, too?" 

Kara nodded. 

"Never would have expected it of him," he said. 

"He compartmentalizes. We do, too. You've come a long way in the last week, Kal." 

"Yeah," he said. "Don't know that I wanted to, really." 

She looked at him. "So you're ready to give up, already?" 

"No! No, no way. It's just...ah, God help me, Kara, I don't know. It's just being thrown into this, so...so...so soon." He put his hands to his head. "Like sensory overload. Too much information. Fighting people out of comic books. People that hit back really hard. I hope there isn't a Phantom Zone in my universe, Kara. Really." 

"Uh huh," said Kara. "Know something, Kal?" 

"What?" 

She stretched her legs out before her and ran her hands from her knees to her thighs, idly. "When I came to Earth, I didn't have any idea what a super-hero was. I can tell you, I'd never have considered this kind of a thing for myself. No way, Jose. I knew Kal had survived the Destruction, and that he was Superman. My father showed me on his monitor. Then, Argo...Argo City died. And I got sent to Earth, to Superman's caretaking. He took me, I guess, under his wing, or his cape, as much as he could. But he didn't adopt me, and I wished back then he had. He just saw me as often as he could, to help me along, to teach me how to use my powers, and to love me as a kinsman. 

"He was a super-hero. He'd been one ever since he was eight. So he decided, with my powers, that's what I had to do, too. I mean, I had the costume. My mother made it for me so that he'd know I was like him, one of his kind. Maybe that was what inspired him. So I not only had to learn how to use my powers, I had to learn how to fight crime. I had to learn to fight, too. I didn't like that, but he made me. Showed me klurkor, showed me how to punch and kick. Well, I had a few scrapes when I was a girl, all kids do, but it wasn't anything serious. And there I was, training like I was some kind of lady glove-fighter. That's kind of Kryptonian boxing. 

"I didn't want to be a super-hero. But that's what Kal said I had to be, and I obeyed him. I...well, I didn't know anything else I could do. He was showing me how to live on Earth, and I felt I owed it to him. The surprising part, Kal, is that I liked a lot of it. Not fighting the crooks so much as helping people. First the kids in the orphanage, in secret. Then other people, all over the world. I had to catch crooks, yeah, put down super-villains, and there seemed to be more of them every year I stayed in the game. But it wasn't...wasn't something I was ever totally comfortable with." 

Superboy looked at her. "Then why'd you keep doing it?" 

She shrugged. "Because of who I was. Because I was Supergirl. Because I was stupid enough, am stupid enough, to think that there's something good I can do for the world with the powers I've got. But I want to be more than a Supergirl, Kal. I want to be a Kara, as well. And even a Linda Danvers. After this, I'm...going to concentrate more on that. If there is an 'after this'." 

Kara didn't say anything. Kal waited for her to speak again. Finally, she did. 

"The moral of the story is that, yeah, somebody else has been where you're at. Me. I had this thing thrust upon me. I had to learn how to do it. I did. It wasn't always pleasant. There were some times it was downright ugly, or depressing, or just bothersome. But. There were also times when it was triumphant, and good, and transcendent. And there have been times, Kal, there have been times...when I've even saved the universe. Can you believe that?" 

"Do you think I'll have to?" 

She nodded. "It's in our line of work." 

"I don't know if I can do something like that." 

"When the time comes, believe me. You will. And the time may be coming very soon." 

He sighed. "So I'm supposed to suck it up, get back in line, and quit being a kid about it all?" 

She shook her head. "Nope. Just remember that what you're feeling is totally natural. Remember that you're not alone in this big, bad Multiverse. And remember that you've got a lot of friends who love you. Including little miss Kara Zor-El." 

He smiled at her. "I think you'd better go with Mr. Dev before he drags you away, Kara." 

She mussed his hair. "Mr. Dev knows better than that. You remember what I told you, Kal. You're one of the family." 

He looked at Kara as if a million words were filling his mouth and not one of them would be able to fight its way out. Which, of course, was the case. 

"We'll be back before long," she said, and stood up, walking towards Dev. 

"Wouldn't count on that," said Dev. "And next time, lad, I'll give you my pep talk. Not like Kara's, but it's nonetheless effective." 

"Come on and affect me, Devian." She began to lead him back down the hall. 

"Kara," said Superman. 

Dev and Kara turned their heads. Superman had returned, with Izaya. Kal's look was both apologetic and grim. 

"We've got a mission," he said. 

She tensed a bit. "Where to?" 

He sighed. "While I was out, Batman contacted me on the transmitter. He passed along word from Infinity, Inc. Turns out they've got a line into Brainiac's starship. That was where Darkseid first started this operation. Lex Luthor is there, along with some of the braintrust. They think we can tip the balance if we get to them." 

"Oh, Sheol," she said. 

"This is a hell of a note, El," said Dev. "Can't your timing be any worse?" 

"I don't like it, either, Dev," admitted Kal. "But the Huntress, who was their contact...the villainess, not the JSA woman...seemed to think that Luthor and company were as scared of Darkseid as it's possible to be. That they might be ready to cut a deal." 

"Somebody tell Darkseid, and see if he wants to up their ante," said Dev. "Just as professional courtesy, of course." 

"Knock it off, Dev," said Kara. 

"So how are we supposed to get there in time?" asked Kara. 

"By Boom Tube," said Izaya. "I will transport you to the space outside their craft." 

"First, we have to pick up the tracker from Infinity," said Superman. "That means you'll have to send us to Earth-Two for a moment. Then you can Tube us to Brainiac's ship. Can that be done?" 

"It can," confirmed Highfather. 

Superboy started forward. "Great, let's get started." 

Superman stopped him with a hand to his chest. "No, Kal. I hate to say it, but...this one, you'll have to sit out." 

"What?" 

"Lex Luthor and his crew of rats are too dangerous. I know you made a good showing against the Zoners, but this is a whole different sort of menace. Kara and Dev will go with me. You stay here with Izaya." 

"But, Superman..." 

Dev said, "Why not let the kid come, El? We can play point for him, and it'd be good experience." 

Kara said, "I hate to say it, Dev, but I agree with Superman on this one. You're still a bit green, Kal, and Luthor is anything but. It's like an Earthman stepping barefoot into a den of rattlesnakes. There'll be plenty of action afterward. But for this...trust us. Okay?" 

Superboy looked away and, after three seconds, said, "Okay," softly. 

"Good for you. Remember the bit about those who also serve who sometimes stand and wait." 

"We'll be back for you, Kal," said Superman. "That's a promise. I believe we're ready, Highfather." 

The lord of New Genesis pointed his staff. There was a loud BOOM of outrushing air. 

Superboy looked to see the familiar circle of energy forming, and saw his three friends duck into it and fly through its tubular interior. After a few seconds, it collapsed in on itself and faded from sight. 

Highfather stepped towards him. "Do not think you have no responsibilities, young Superman. You will help guard our realm in their abscence. Will you honor me by accompanying me on my rounds?" 

The young man from Earth-Prime looked up at the man he had only known of as a presence in a Jack Kirby comic book some weeks before. 

"I'd be honored to, great sir," he said. 

-S- 

Nightshade took a great breath and stepped from the shadows into an Earth-One alley. 

The first thing she saw was the glint of a pair of antique .45's and a pair of eyes a foot or two above them. 

"Who are you?" said an unnerving voice. "Speak!" 

The heroine from Earth-Four regarded the man and decided she could phase into shadow-form and avoid his bullets, if need be. "My name is Nightshade," she said. "And put those guns somewhere else, or I'll make you eat them." 

"I think not," said the man holding them. A red gem glinted eerily on his finger. "Do you serve the cause of Chaos?" 

"Right now, I serve the government on my Earth," she said. "That's about as chaotic as I want to get. Do you know Supergirl?" 

A glint of recognition seemed to appear in the hidden man's eyes. "We have not met," he said. "But yes, I know of her. How do you know her?" 

"Met her on my Earth. She came there with some of her friends. They helped us liberate our world. That good enough for you?" 

"Why are you here?" 

Nightshade thought of telling him, "None of your damn business," and then, without good reason, said, "I'm on a reconnaissance mission. My world wants to know if this war is still going on in yours, and if it could spill over to ours." 

The man said, "Look out there, and tell me what you think." He gestured with one of his gleaming guns, neither of which was pointed at her anymore, towards the alley's mouth. She looked at him, and, when he put up his guns, edged towards the opening, keeping an eye on the shadowed man as much as was possible. 

She saw figures flying towards a tall building in the near distance which was capped by a globe. Some of them flew, some of them fell. There was, at times, an eerie glow of energy atop the building. 

Nightshade turned back to the shadowed man. "I think it looks pretty darn bad. Are you one of the good guys?" 

"I serve on the side of Order," said the man. "Mostly, this conflict is above my level of power. But I do what I am allowed." 

She thought about asking him just what he was allowed, then thought better of it. "Well, just don't shoot me, because I think we're both on the same side," she said. "You have a name?" 

The man was gone. 

For a moment, Nightshade stared, even her darkling senses unable to penetrate the shadows. Was this man an extradimensional spawn, like herself? 

At the moment, perhaps it didn't matter. 

She began to move in the direction of the embattled building. She had been ordered to scout, and scout she would. 

She just hoped it wouldn't be the last assignment she ever took. 

-S- 

The Magic Squad was unprepared for the sight which confronted them when they phased into Metropolis with the Losers' League and Harbinger. Neither were the ones who confronted them. Heroes of a hundred costumes and more, some familiar, some not. 

In fact, one white-haired, half-naked guy in armor raised his sword to them, which caused Nightmaster to raise his in response. Harbinger got between them, which was a brave move indeed. "Hold, Travis Morgan," she said. "I am Harbinger, and these are allies. Yours and mine." 

"Daddy, it's me," said Jennifer Morgan, stepping to the front. 

The white-haired guy lowed his weapon a bit, and then sheathed it. Jennifer rushed to him, and he embraced her. "You made it back," said the Warlord. 

"Yes, and so did you," said Jennifer. After a moment, she turned to her team. "This is my father, Travis Morgan. They call him the Warlord." 

"I'm so reassured," said Nightmaster. Mellu Loron shot him a look of caution. Nonetheless, Jim Rook lowered his singing sword as well. 

"What's going on, group?" asked Snapper Carr. "We just got here. What's the score?" 

B'wana Beast, newly arrived from Africa, spoke. "There's a battle. You need more explanation than that?" 

"It would be nice," admitted Mind-Grabber Kid. 

The Warlord pointed with his sword towards the Daily Planet building. "The bird at the top of that is the key to it all. We've been making progress against his army, but none against him. He can absorb all the power they throw at him, and pitch it right back. Right now, we're going to try a surgical strike. I've laid out the operational plans. But we're being hit hard by those damned Weaponers, and by those rank-and-file super-villains." He pronounced the last word as if it were distasteful to him. 

Amethyst said, "Are you going to try it soon?" 

For answer, Morgan stepped towards Nightmaster, still holding his daughter's hand, and pointed with his thumb towards Rook's sword. "You know how to use that thing, young fellow?" 

"Yeah," confirmed Rook, wondering if he should have said it. 

"Then come with me," said the Warlord. "I'll give you some people to use it on." 

-S- 

John Constantine wondered for a second if he should be smoking around the kid, then shrugged and lit another Silk Cut. You only lived once. 

Tim Hunter crouched near a stump. They hadn't really used Constantine's transport powers at all, yet. They'd just walked about a mile away from Abby's shack. The miniature Swamp Thing was hanging his head and arms out of John's coat pocket. "What're we doing here, John?" 

"Told you, Tim," said Constantine, taking a long drag. "Waiting for a Lantern. The Stranger's arranging transport for our six-inch pal here. After that, we can get back to the Baron's for a meal." 

"It is hoped...he will have...more information...than you, Constantine," said the Swamp Thing in a high voice. Then he stiffened, so abruptly that the Englishman could feel it against him. 

"What's up, Swamp?" he said, in a low voice, flipping his cigarette into a puddle. 

"A presence," said the Swamp Thing. "Beware." 

Tim Hunter was dully gratified that John Constantine didn't see the newcomer before he did. That was all the comfort he could get. Because the boy before them, with his black hair, his incongruous but very proper dress, and his aura of evil, was anything but comforting to look on. 

"My name is Klarion," he said. Then he raised his hands. 

That was when the three of them began to scream in pain.   


To be continued...   



	31. Part 31:  The Young Sorcerors

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 31 

by DarkMark 

The problem with the four newcomers to the Battle of Metropolis was that, at first, nobody knew what side they were on. 

That changed very quickly, as the pale, blue-clad beauty placed herself before the New Titans and Outsiders and, gesturing with her hands, caused an arc of water to rear up, impossibly, from the nearby river, pitch itself over their heads, and slam into their foemen with the force of thousands of pounds of water through a fire hose. What remained of the Fearsome Five and Masters of Disaster were largely bowled over by the impact. 

"Holy spit," offered Cyborg, looking on. 

Kole said, "Flash, I'm newer than you. Who are these guys?" 

Wally West, looking at the foursome, said, "They're beyond me, too, Kole. But so far, I'm pretty glad they're on our side." 

"Call me Tsunami," shouted the girl, still directing streams of water at their enemies. "I stand with the heroes." 

The villainous Dr. Light, soggy from Tsunami's aquatic assault, grimaced and lifted a light-blaster of his own design. Before he could aim it at her, one of the foursome, a youth whose flesh was gray and stony, lifted his own hand. Immediately, the plates of a nearby sidewalk uprooted themselves and began flying at Light with astonishing velocity and accuracy. The super-villain threw himself flat on the ground, and found the soil itself coating him in a suffocating grip. He tried to reach his belt for another luminous gimmick, but a small rock smashed his belt-pouch and bruised his fingers. He cried out. 

The gray hero sprinted up, grabbed him by the collar, and smashed him with a mineral-hard fist. Dr. Light was, as the phrase had it, out like a light. His opponent looked at the Titans, the Outsiders, and what remained of the villains. 

"You can call me Kid Rock," he said. 

Heatstroke yelled, "I'll call you Hot Rock!", and shot forth from her hands a burst of flame designed to turn him into lava. Before it could reach its target, the blast was parried by a wall of fire from another source. The third hero, in a costume of red and yellow not unlike Heatstroke's own, blasted back at her with a flame-pillar that slammed into her midriff and sent her back into a building wall. She cracked her head against the marble block of it and, groaning, went down. 

"Regards from Firebolt," said the other. 

Mammoth, pulling himself out of the tangle of fallen villains, got to his feet and charged at the assembled heroes. "Enough! Mammoth mangle you. Mammoth smash you all! Mammoth tired of this stupid stuff!" 

He passed by a pair of huge blue boots and yellow legs, or almost passed by them. A large, blue-gloved fist descended on the top of his head. It knocked him flat. "Mammoth," he said, "you advertise yourself too much." 

Geo-Force looked at the towering figure before them. "And perhaps you, sir, advertise yourself too little. Who are you? And who are your comrades?" 

"I think the big one's cute," opined Halo. 

The titanic hero smiled, tightly. "I go by the name of Giantboy. We're kind of temp heroes. As for our team name...let's just say we're the H-Team. That work for you?" 

Metamorpho said, "Man, as long as you keep laying out licks like that, you can play in our band any day. We've still got a lotta work to do. You game?" 

"But definitely, sir," said Firebolt, who had been Chris King. 

Tsunami, formerly Vicki Grant, said, "That's what we came here for." 

And Kid Rock, transformed from Nick Stevens, raised a fist in the air. "You got villains? Lead us to 'em! Let's rock 'n' roll!" 

-S- 

Dev-Em had never seen Brainiac's starship before, and Kara had not seen it in this design. It was designed in the shape of Brainiac's head itself, a monstrous robotic form with metallic tentacles surrounding it, Medusa-like. The propulsion unit was below it. The sight of it both disgusted and slightly frightened them, and Kara guessed that Kal, to some degree, was feeling the same. 

Why hasn't it hit us with weaponry yet?> asked Supergirl, via a telepathic plug. 

Superman gestured to the tracking device in his hand. Because of this. It's still sensing us as either the Huntress or the Sportsmaster, or both. But we can't count on that for much longer. They're bound to have us in visual.> 

So what are we waiting for, El?>, asked Dev, readying himself. 

Scope it out with your X-ray vision,> advised Superman. Then, we go.> 

An instant later, the three of them smashed through the outer wall of the ship like a human wedge. 

Lex Luthor and his cronies were barely able to register the readout before the assault was in progress. Red-sun projectors were activated, but melted by heat-vision before they could work. Kryptonite reserves were found, torn away from the ship with their lead shielding intact, and flung into space. Kal and Kara melted and reshaped the hull into place before much air could escape. The magic fields set up by the Wizard were detected and avoided. 

Like it or not, Luthor had to admit that he'd never been able to fully account for Superman's speed. 

The very walls grew metal tentacles and began to reach for the three heroes. The Krypts batted them away nonchalantly. Superman fixed Luthor with a stern gaze, one he'd practiced for just such an eventuality. 

"If you use that warsuit, Lex, I may see how much of it I can make you eat," he said. 

Luthor stared back at him. "Bluffing, as usual." 

"Try me. I don't have time for jokes." 

There were few persons inside the ship at the moment. Kara deduced that it was mostly reserved for command people. She recognized their old foe Lex, to be sure. Another of the occupants resembled him to a certain degree, though he was at least twenty years older and had red hair, shot through with grey. He also looked, if possible, more ruthless than Lex. 

Supergirl had heard tell of a Lex Luthor of Earth-Two, and guessed that this was him. 

Dev-Em found himself looking at a short bald man with coke-bottle glasses and a white smock. "And who might you be, mate? The Deadly Druggist?" 

"You had better be on Captain Marvel's power level," grated Dr. Sivana. "Anybody who speaks thus to me and isn't invulnerable is asking for some serious evil science." 

Supergirl turned to a black-haired, black-bearded man in a simple black suit with white trim. "Since we're doing introductions, you may as well tell us who you are," she said. 

"That's Vandal Savage, Kara," said Superman. "He gave me some trouble not long ago. I haven't forgotten it, either." 

"At your service," said the immortal villain, doing a mock bow. 

Dev looked at the last of them, a man in a green monk's robe whose cowl hid his face in shadow. "That leaves only you, as far as I can tell." 

The cowled man said nothing. But Dev could feel his eyes burning into him, and didn't much like it. 

"The gentleman's name is the Hooded One," said Lex Luthor of Earth-1. "He represents Earth-4. He doesn't like insolent idiots any more than I do." 

"You're such a charmer, Lex," said Dev. 

"You know me, but I do not know you," Luthor continued. "You have the advantage of me, sir." 

"And we mean to keep it," said Supergirl. "We don't have much time, Lex. Want to plea-bargain?" 

The redheaded Earth-2 Luthor rolled his eyes to the ceiling. "I knew it. The environment of this Earth drives heroes nuts." 

Dev grabbed Luthor-2 and shoved him up against a wall. "Listen, you. We don't have time for this. We're less than two days away from turning into mass-produced zombies, by the guy you gave your allegiance to. Now, I'm not El here. I never took any oaths about what to do with my enemies. And as far as I'm concerned, you're an enemy. Got that? I'd be willing to bet I can break your arm or any other body part I want before El can get to me. You got that?" 

Old Luthor paled somewhat, but said nothing. 

"Restrain your friend, Superman," said the Luthor of Earth-1. 

Superman stood with arms folded. "He seems to be getting results." 

Lex Luthor's glove started to glow with power. Supergirl reached out and grabbed his wrist, roughly, and squeezed. "I can break this glove and the wrist under it, Lex," she said. "Your call." 

Superman looked at her in concern, and Lex didn't miss it. But he also didn't press his luck. He deactivated the glove. She stood back a pace, but kept her eye on him. 

"We have defenses here we haven't even activated yet," said Vandal Savage. "Some of them by my modifications. We could still kill you, Superman." 

"But you haven't yet," said Superman. "And I'll bet I know why." 

Even Sivana looked chagrined, and gazed about himself furtively. Kara caught on, and began scanning the walls of the starship. Even though a lot of it had lead shielding, she was able to perceive what she needed to. 

"This place is being monitored," she said. "That's not surprising. But I'll bet we only have a short time here before Darkseid sees us and destroys it." 

Luthor sighed. "Exactly. Can you save us?" 

"We could do a quid pro quo," said Kal. "Your lives in return for information and help." 

"Oh, balderdash," said Sivana. "Everyone knows you heroes don't let anybody die. You're just like the Big Red Cheese in that respect. You'll save us in the final reel." 

"Guess again," said Kara, in a quiet voice. "I've had to kill twice, already. And I did." 

"Kara!" Superman looked as though someone had shoved 90-proof Green K in his face. 

"I was forced to do it," continued Supergirl. "The first time, I had to choose between that and the universe. The second time, I had to save my own life. I wouldn't kill you, Lex. But with what we're facing, in as little time as we've got...I might just run off and leave you to your own devices." 

"So would I," said Dev. "And I think even El here might. Care to deal, Lex?" 

Luthor looked at the rest of his fellows, and even the Hooded One silently nodded yes. Then he turned back and said, "I think you'll have about five seconds before..." 

The three Kryptonians were already in action. 

Superman, Supergirl, and Dev tore out interior walls from the starship, ripping apart Brainiac's ship-mechanisms, melting what defensive devices they had to with their heat vision. Within nanoseconds, they had enough metal with which to surround the five criminal masterminds. 

"...Darkseid..." 

At super-speed, the threesome used their heat-vision and super-pressure to reshape the metal into a sphere, which they built around the two Luthors, Vandal Savage, Sivana, and the Hooded One. The five villains didn't even have a chance to mentally register it yet. 

"...blows..." 

Kara and Kal blew air into the sphere to ensure the quintet would be able to breathe and to give them Earth-normal air pressure. Then Dev sealed the metal over the hole they had blown into with his heat-vision, melting a bit of metal over it and cooling it with his super-breath. 

"...us..." 

The three Krypts took the sphere in hand, each of them spreading their arms to encompass a different part of it, and slammed through the side of the starship again, breaking through and entering the depths of space. 

"...up." 

They conveyed the sphere far away from the ruptured ship of Brainiac. But even at that, they barely had time to escape before a wave of pure destructive energy lanced out from an unknown relay station and struck the likeness of Brainiac. The ship was blown to bits, in silent space. 

Have we got enough air in there for them to breathe till we get them to Earth?>, Dev queried, telepathically. 

We do if we hurry,> said Superman, and began propelling the metal sphere towards Earth at warp speed. Kara and Dev added their power to the effort. 

Supergirl knew that they'd get there in time to save the villains' lives. But it was going to be a bumpy ride for them. Somehow, that didn't bother her all that much. 

-S- 

The boy with the balefully glowing eyes was going to kill them both. 

Through his pain, John Constantine remembered what he'd heard tell of Klarion, the Witchboy. He'd never encountered him, but he tried to keep tabs among the names of the Craft's practitioners through his contacts. That just made good sense. You never knew who you'd be up against, or who you might have to ask for a favor. Klarion he'd heard of, and the ones who told him what he knew spoke of him in awed tones. 

The kid had come to Jason Blood, the Demon, and healed him of some wounds in order to be able to hide out in his place from the cult of witches that was after him. But Klarion wasn't a friend of the Demon. He didn't have to be. The blood of witches was strong in him, as strong as it had been in many generations. 

The next time he met the Demon, Klarion had created a duplicate Demon to kill Jason Blood's three closest friends. He almost succeeded. Later, he fought the Demon a third time as part of a complicated plot involving an industrialist called Oscar Pound and another demon, Baal-Satyr. This time, Jason Blood had Wonder Woman on his side, and that tipped the balance in his favor. Klarion had taken a powder then, and hadn't, to Constantine's knowledge, been seen since then. 

Now, the 18-year-old punk was blasting Constantine's mind and brain apart from the inside, it felt, with his considerable psychic powers. From the screams John heard, he knew Tim Hunter was getting the same kind of treatment. Swampy didn't sound like he was doing much better. John didn't have the capacity to do a counter-chant, or pull anything out of his inside coat pockets, or do much of anything except writhe in pain on the grass, and wait for death. 

Unless... 

...unless what the Stranger, Occult, and E had said about Tim's potential turned out to be true. 

"Tim!" he called out, barely able to manage it. "You've gotta take him. You're the only one. Reach inside you. Use your power. Hit him!" 

"I...I can't," said Tim, with a sob of pain. 

Constantine looked, and saw the miniature Swamp Thing sprawled flat on the ground. He could also see writhing roots and tendrils from nearby plants trying to envelop Klarion, who was withering them before they got near him. 

"You can, blast it! That's why...why we took such time with you! Why we...why we brought you to those different places! To...Creation, and the Dreaming, and...Fairyland. Because you CAN! DO it!" 

Then Contantine had to flop on his back and put his hands to his eyes to try and keep them from exploding. 

Tim Hunter was in the worst pain he'd ever been in, worse even than when he'd almost fractured his skull dumping off of a skateboard. He could see his two friends, in at least as bad a shape as himself. He also knew that none of them were going to be able to survive this. 

Not unless he did something he'd never been able to do. 

He thought, wildly, of the James Bond movies he'd watched and the comic books he'd read. He thought of other heroes he'd read of in books of mythology or pulp fiction. All of the stories seemed to have one thing in common. The hero, at the end, got One Last Desperate Chance. 

This one was his. 

Despite the pain, Tim Hunter tried to calm his breathing. He struggled to disregard what of the agony he could, and to send himself into the state which Dr. Fate had once revealed to him. The strength of the soul, the strength of the mind. Dr. Occult had once told him, "A man is as strong as he will let himself be," and this was his credo. 

Tim knew himself for a fifteen-year-old kid. But he was going to be the strongest fifteen-year-old kid that the world had seen since Superboy, if that was what it took. 

Deep down. Down into the subconscious. Into the Id. Into the places where the Power lay. 

He couldn't see it, couldn't hear it, but he could perceive it. It was there, somehow. Like an emergency reserve. He had to grasp it, to mold it, to use it. 

He worked on instinct. And as he did so, the pain seemed to lessen, the pressure seemed to decrease, and a great flow of energy seemed to suffuse his slight frame. 

Before he knew it, he was rising to his knees. Then he was standing up. Facing Klarion, whose eyes seemed even wider in surprise. 

"You're making this more difficult," the Witchboy said, in a calm voice. "I'd have finished you a lot more quickly without it." 

Tim Hunter stood, breathing hard, and gathered everything within him into a ball of force which could not be seen. But it sure as hell could be felt. 

"Put a sock in it," he said, and, stretching out his hand, let the energy go. 

As quickly as he did it, Klarion cried out, flying up in the air as if hit by a plank in the chest, and went over backwards. He lay on the ground near the swamp, screaming, his limbs twitching like an epileptic in a seizure, his eyes so wide it didn't seem that his lids would ever cover them again, his mouth open and wide and spewing spittle. 

Tim kept pouring it on. 

And when it was finished, the pain and pressure left Tim Hunter's mind, and the energy flow was shut off. He gasped in effort and sunk to his knees. It felt as though he'd been running the 660 at gym class. If magic took this much effort, he was going to have to get in shape. 

Klarion was paralyzed, insensate, lying on his back, staring senselessly at the sky. 

John Constantine touched Tim on the shoulder, giving the kid an awful start. "It's just me, kid. It's just me. You came through. You did good." He gave Tim an extra pat on the shoulder. "You did what I couldn't do." 

"Aw, John," said Tim. "If he hadn't gotten the drop on you..." 

"Bugger that," said Constantine. "You've seen what's inside of you. How do you feel?" 

"Awed, kind of. Never really thought I had somethin' like that in me. John. What am I supposed to do, now?" 

Constantine squatted before him. "Well, you're supposed to keep on learning. You're also supposed to learn how to use it in the most effective ways. And if you ever end up like Barney Google Eyes there–" He gestured with his thumb towards Klarion. "–I'll be waiting for you. Believe it." 

"I do," said Tim. 

"Swamp, are you okay?" 

The six-inch Swamp Thing lumbered towards them on its stick-legs. "I am...recovered...Constantine. My gratitude...Tim. You...saved us...both." 

He stuck out one root-covered hand. Tim, not knowing what else to do, offered his right forefinger. The Swamp Thing grasped it and shook it. 

"Tim," said Constantine. He pointed towards a nearby tree. "Go over there a moment and turn away." 

"Why?" Tim looked suspicious. "What're you going to do?" 

The British mage looked grim. "Just go. Now." 

"I want to know what you're going to do, John." 

"Don't question a superior officer, kid," said Constantine. "Just go!" 

Tim Hunter looked at Constantine for a long moment. Then he turned and walked towards the tree, looking behind him. 

"I...echo his...concern, Constantine," said the Swamp Thing. "What is...your intention?" 

"Just watch," said John, and, walking towards Klarion, knelt on the ground beside him with his back to Tim. 

Then he reached in his coat pocket, took out a switchblade knife, and opened it. He placed the pointed end of it against Klarion's throat and pushed in, hard enough to barely prick the skin. 

"Constantine," warned the Swamp Thing. 

Ignoring him, John spoke. "Now you listen to me, you little snot. I don't know if you can hear me with your conscious mind, but I'm gettin' through to you on some level. If it wasn't for settin' a bad example for the kid over there, I'd cut your friggin' throat in a second. Damned if I don't think I ought to go ahead and do it anyway. But I'm cuttin' you a little slack instead, and that's the last time I'll do it. If I ever...ever...hear that you threw down on Tim again, or if I ever see you again, I don't care what you got in your bag of tricks. I'm going to give you a Peruvian necktie. Understand? You had three chances with the Demon. With me, you only get one. That's all. I never want to see you again. The end." 

He pressured the blade enough to let a drop of blood escape Klarion's white throat and stain his steel. Then he withdrew the knife, wiped the blade on the grass, and turned to the tiny Swamp Thing. "Don't use any plants from that patch," he warned. 

"I would...never...have let you...do it, Constantine," said the Swamp Thing. 

"Good thing you didn't have to find out," said John, seriously. Then he turned towards the tree. "Tim, come on back. It's over." 

Tim Hunter came out from behind the tree. "John. You didn't." 

"Not quite. He's still breathing. If you ever cross his path again, you tell me. Him and me have got an understanding." 

Coming nearer, Tim said, "I thought we had one, too, John." 

"Not that kind," said Constantine. "This is the way it is sometimes, Tim." 

"It's never going to be that way with me." 

The Englishman looked at him and only spoke after a long pause. "Oh, yes, it will be." 

Tim didn't even try to repress his shudder. John Constantine went to Klarion's body, sat down on the ground, fumbled a Silk Cut out of the package in his pocket, lit it with a match, then waved out the match and tossed it into a puddle of water. 

"Now what?" Tim asked. 

"I already told you what," said Constantine. "We wait for a ride." 

Before he had the time to smoke two cigarettes, the ride arrived. 

A green nimbus was seen in the sky. The three of them looked up. It was clear against the gold and red of the Louisiana sunset. It was coming near at considerable speed. Tim tensed, but Constantine lay a hand on his arm to try to calm him. The Swamp Thing remained standing. 

Before long, the green glow came close enough to them for Tim to discern some sort of form within it. And then it was before them, coming to a landing on the ground before the three of them. The green aura dissipated, and they saw the being within. 

The uniform was familiar. Tim had seen enough pictures of the Green Lantern to recognize his costume. But the being within was quite literally alien. His head, to Tim, resembled the top of a carrot, right down to the green leafy crest growing out of its top. He had only one huge eye, surrounded by a black mask. This Green Lantern was a far ways away from the ones native to Earth. 

Nonetheless, at least it was a Lantern. 

"You are my Terran contacts," said Medphyl, Green Lantern of planet J586. "I bring you greetings from the Corps of Green Lanterns." 

"'Lo," said Constantine. "We've got a hitchhiker for you. And a prisoner. Be careful of the kid, he's a sorceror." 

The tiny Swamp Thing stepped up to the plant-man. "Welcome," he said. "We have...somewhat...in common." 

The alien GL stooped and picked the Swamp Thing up in his palm, looking at him curiously. "You are an Elemental. Do you always come in this small a size on Earth?" 

"He's just on a diet," John said. "Best of luck, Swamp. Let us know how it went when you get back." 

"Be careful of that guy," said Tim, gesturing to Klarion. "Keep him in a coma or something. If you don't, he'll kill you." 

"I shall," said the Green Lantern. "Farewell." He used the ring to surround himself and the Swamp Thing in a green aura, and then took to the skies once again. 

Constantine waved, once. "So long, Swamp. Don't forget to write." 

Tim Hunter looked at the fading green glow, and wondered at the distance he had come from his normal upbringing in less than a month. 

"So now what?" he asked, toying with a stick in the dirt. 

"Now we get back to Winter's, and eat," said John. "Never save the Multiverse on an empty stomach." He offered a hand to Tim. Reluctantly, the youth took it. They took several steps forward. 

The sunset of the Louisiana swamp faded and was supplanted by the interior of a Georgetown mission. Baron Winters, Dr. Occult, and Madame Xanadu were in the drawing room, startled only for a moment by their presence. 

"You're back," said Winters. 

"Wait'll you hear how the kid managed today," said Constantine. "It'll cost you dinner." 

Winters grimaced. "That's the thing I hate most about magicians. You're all freeloaders. Come on." 

-S- 

In the Hague, a group of heroes who had not come to America for over a decade debated what to do in the current crisis. They were possibly the earliest super-hero group to be banded together on Earth-One, and they called themselves the Club of Heroes, in English. 

Most of them had been inspired by the example of the American Batman to fight crime in their native lands, without powers but with special skills and equipment. From Italy came the Legionary, who employed the armor of an Roman warrior and gimmicked spears in his work. From Great Britain hailed the Knight and his son, the Beefeater, formerly the Squire. From Australia, the Ranger came, the masked guardian of the outback. South America provided the Gaucho, who employed bolas and other such weapons against crooks. The Musketeer of France was there, complete with his shock-wielding sword. All of them knew each other, but hardly any of them had worked with each other in years. That they had come together after so long a time was a mark of the danger at hand. 

The Legionary had the floor. "First, we have heard nothing from the Green Arrow Brigade, am I correct?" 

The Musketeer looked at him tiredly. "Antonio, where have you been in the last fifteen years? Those imitators were so short-lived, they fell away mostly when Green Arrow of America changed his costume." 

"Ah," said the Roman. The Green Arrow Brigade had been an international team of heroes, like their own, whose members had modelled themselves after the original Green Arrow. They had much shorter careers than the Club of Heroes members, and even shorter than the original GA. "Well, with the Global Guardians in America, that leaves us alone." 

"It ruddy well does," said the Ranger. "And as far as I'm concerned, the Tasmanian Devil can stay where he's at." 

The Knight, white hair showing at more than his temples, said, "Thus, the real question to be decided here is, what aid do we send, if any?" 

"'If any'?" questioned the Beefeater, looking at his father. "Dad, we need to get over there and help the Yanks. They did as much for us in the Big One." 

"True," said the Knight. "But this is a much different kind of conflict, son. And, if you haven't noticed, none of us have super-powers." 

"Neither do Batman or the Arrow, or a lot of other guys in costumes I could name," the Beefeater pointed out. "Doesn't stop them from fighting." 

The Gaucho said, "Si. But, as your father has pointed out, the battle in Metropolis has drawn the most powerful heroes on Earth. So far, they have been unable to counter the one called Mantis and his legions. What good could we do?" 

"We could do whatever we could," said the Beefeater. "We could show 'em we're on their side." 

"We already are, bambino," said the Legionary. "But aiding an ally in a battle where one could make a difference is one thing. Charging blindly into a holocaust is another." 

"I agree with the Legionary," said the Musketeer. "The Guardians have powers, and they are in the fight. We could do but little to affect the outcome." 

"I ought to go over there on my own!" the Beefeater seethed. 

The Knight looked at him. "Do it, then. But you'll be going alone, if you do." 

The young man looked at his father in anger, but said nothing. 

"I might stand with Beef here, in another setting," said the Ranger. "But they've got a point. The fight in Metropolis is too big for us. We're needed where we are. There ain't too many heroes per capita in the places we come from. They're over quota in America." 

"Then I propose we remain together for the duration here," said the Knight. "We'll keep tabs of the situation. But unless it directly threatens our countries, or breaks out of America, we stand pat. Do we really need a vote?" 

"Yes," said his son. 

"I don't think so," said the Legionary. "But if you wish, I'll put it to one. Those in favor of the Knight's proposal, raise their right hands." 

Four hands went into the air. 

"Now those opposed, raise your right hand." 

The Beefeater's hand went up, alone. 

"The vote is carried. We will wait." 

The Beefeater said, lowly, "We will shirk." 

"Son," said the Knight, "mind your manners." 

-S- 

Other worlds had their ways of dealing with the crisis. 

On the planet Algor, the Squadron of Avengers, a foursome of heroes who included the thunder god Wandjina, the Silver Sorceress, Jack B. Quick, and Blue Jay, fought their greatest enemies, the Offenders, plus a new group of individual menaces, the Terror Organization, and managed wins over them both. That despite the fact that Darkseid had helped hype the powers and equipment of the villains. The Squadron had met the JLA once, but didn't need their help in this battle, and probably would have refused it. 

The green Martian populance and the few white Polar Dwellers who remained alive on Mars II fought off an invasion of the Yellow Martians and their commander, Wonder Woman's old foe, the Duke of Deception. Neither race had liked the traitorous Yellows, and both were glad to see the attacking force in prison camps and the Duke himself repelled. This battle, more than anything, helped forge bonds between the races of J'onn J'onzz and the late Commander Blanx. 

The Zamarons were aided against a force of Qwardians by the Guardians of the Universe, who finally overcame their separatist instincts and stood side-by-side with the women who had evolved from Oan females. In the aftermath, the warrioresses opted to still maintain their separate government and world. But a goodly portion of them returned to Oa with the Guardians, and it was accepted that, if they came through the present crisis, a new generation of immortals would soon result. 

Other planets, such as Daxam, Braal, Cargg, Oceania, Durla, and Daxam, either were untouched so far by the forces of Darkseid or coped with them in their own ways. And on a plane called, by some, the Fifth Dimension, a group of three magically-powered beings held a summit meeting of their own. 

Mr. Mxyzptlk looked worried. "I'm worried," he said. "I don't have to tell you guys, this is one of the most seriously un-fun things I've seen in my lifetime. Or even before it." 

"Yeah," agreed Bat-Mite, sitting at the seventeen-sided table in his faux-Batman costume with the floppy ears. "This sitch possesses the least prank capacity of anything I've ever seen. If this Darkseid wins, the whole thing might even spread into our worlds. That is, if we don't strengthen the barriers." 

"Golly," said Quisp, the aquatic sprite. "Even the water-worlds might be affected. Even my friend Aquaman might turn into a zombie." 

"Oh?" said Mxyzptlk, dryly. "Do you think anyone'd notice?" 

"That's not nice, Mxy," pouted the green-haired water-imp. 

Bat-Mite slapped his hand on the table. "The thing is, if we can trust the Fun Potential Monitors, this thing is gonna be decided in about two times around their sun for Earth. They've got Batman and just about every hero on five Earths working on it, along with a bunch of stuffy sorcerors. If they can't crack it, I don't see how we'd make any difference." 

"We could entertain the troops," mused Mxyzptlk. "But there's not much fun in that." 

"Quisp not want to entertain troops," said Quisp. "Quisp wants to help save Atlantis. Even Xebel, Mera's world, if they'll let me."   
  
The Silly Sprite adjusted his tiny derby. "Last we saw, the Waterlogged Wonders had the problem there in hand. Don't believe they need you, Quisp." 

"May go see 'em, anyway." 

"That's an unfun thing to do," chided Bat-Mite. "Open a portal between your world and theirs, and the Anti-Fun Equation could poke through it. All your people would be turned into Seriousers." 

Quisp looked sober indeed. For a sprite, such was a fate worse than death. Unless, of course, you got to play pranks in the Afterlife. 

"I think the action is clear," said Mxyzptlk. "We let the heroes handle this one. Once it's resolved, if they're not zombies, we'll give them a little time off and then do a prank raid to celebrate. Agreed?" 

"Agreed," said Bat-Mite. 

"All right, maybe," Quisp said. 

"Good. Let's throw out the second order of business." 

All three of them reached for sheets of paper on the table and threw them over their left shoulders. 

Then Mxyzptlk gave Bat-Mite a hotfoot, Bat-Mite shot Mxy's eyes full of sparkles, and Quisp went home to see how things came out. 

He hoped he didn't have to come to a meeting like this again. It was just too darned serious. 

-S- 

"Don't fidget so, dearie," said Granny Goodness. "After all, in two days' time, the whole thing will be over. Won't that be nice?" 

Beautiful Dreamer looked at the big woman on the bench before her, dully. "You honestly want to be a zombie?" 

"All it will mean is serving Darkseid more efficiently," Granny replied. "Efficiency is something I've always striven for, in myself and in my troops. And they were efficient, oh yes they were, missy. Or they were dead." 

"Why don't you just kill me and get it over with?" 

"Because our Great Lord doesn't want me to." She smiled. "But that won't stop me from smacking your pretty head, if you get out of line." 

D'reema stared back at her, defiantly. "Darkseid would destroy you for that." 

"Our Dread Lord allows me some latitude," said Granny. "You wouldn't like to find out how much, missy." 

D'reema went to face the door, her arms folded. "You Apokoliptics tortured my stepbrother. You ruined his brain. You murdered Himon. You killed my mother." She whirled and gave Granny an angry look. "What do you have to be proud of, you witch?" 

Granny gave her back a stern look. "Think you're the only one to lose someone in battle, missy? You're not. I have, too." 

The Forever Person gave her back a neutral look. 

"Oh, yes," said Granny, not smiling. "My husband, Mogar, was one of the elite trainers of Darkseid's troops. We were mated by order of the Dread Lord himself. We didn't care for each other at first, but then we came to hate each other. Oh, yes we did. It was delicious." 

D'reema was past the point of being repulsed by anything Granny told her. She sat against the side of the wall and waited for the recital to be done. 

"Then Mogar died. He was torn to pieces by one of the blastwielders on your side. Do you think only New Genesis soldiers stink when they're dead, missy? My husband died before he could give me a son. 

"That was when I went to the Dread Lord himself and asked for the position my husband had. He doubted a woman could handle it. I grabbed one of his guards by the head, banged his head into the floor three times, kicked him where it hurt, and told him to stand up. He made it, just barely. I gave him an inspection, slapped him around a little more, and then kept him at attention. After a little more of that, the Dread Lord decided to give me a try. 

"He put me in charge of the military school, and that was what I wanted most in this life. Besides serving the Dread Lord, of course. Instead of just one son to mold and shape, I had a thousand of them. And daughters, too. I had to show him what I could do, and I did. I improved every aspect of Darkseid's training." 

"Improved," said D'reema. "Is that why you lost so many of them every year?" 

Granny made a dismissive gesture. "The weak always die. But the strong, ah, yes, those were what Darkseid loved. And what Granny loved as well. They gave me their love, and their loyalty. Granny made them the kind of boys who could stand up to Izaya's brats in battle, and win. And so far, missy, we are winning. That's Granny's legacy. That's what she has to be proud of. And now, you." 

"Me?" 

"Yes. This is one for one. I tell you my story, you tell me yours." 

"You want to hear about me?" 

Granny Goodness nodded. 

D'reema considered it for a long moment, and then decided the hell with it and began to speak. 

"I was born the same year my mother died," she said. "Two years after Scott. I never knew him. I was too young before he was...taken away. I was never close to Orion. He frightened me. I grew up apart from him, by my desire and by Father's consent. It hurt him, but I couldn't accept Orion. 

"I tried to be closer to my father, but...that was difficult, as well. He had given away my brother, and taken on the son of Darkseid. And I had no mother. I was part of the court, part of the family, but...distant, as well. 

"Thus, I found another family of sorts. Three of them were the sons of a warrior who was killed in the Great War. He died and his body was given to the Source. His sons were Big Bear, and Serifan, and Mark Moonrider. Vykin was the son of his greatest friend, who also died in the conflict." 

Granny spoke. "And this warrior's name?" 

"His name was...his name was Taaru," said D'reema. 

The harridan of Apokolips stared thoughtfully, and nodded. 

"There was an incident in which Big Bear and Serifan were attacked by Apokoliptics," D'reema continued. "That was when we knew Darkseid was about to resume the war. The two of them fought off the warriors, not knowing the one they wanted was me. 

"Not three days' time afterward, we faced a greater force. The five of us were out at a gathering, secretly, near the Source. Highfather would have punished us if he had known we were there. But we had joined our Mother Boxes' power into a common, larger box, and we were experimenting with it. We were convinced we could...touch the Beyond with it. We were wrong. Instead, the Beyond touched us. 

"While we were there, sitting in a circle, the Box above us, we heard the noise of a...of a Boom Tube. A squadron of Para-Demons were coming out of it. They were making for us, attacking us. The males fought them, fought them with Big Bear's strength and Moonrider's Megaton Touch and Vykin's magnetic power and Serifan's Cosmic Cartridges, and I with my illusions. But it seemed futile. There were so many of them, so many, and they kept coming, and coming on. And it would be over before the soldiers of New Genesis could do anything about it. 

"My back was to the Source, then, and I felt...something. Not quite a communication, but a compulsion. I had to touch the Mother Box, and have my friends touch it as well, all together. Despite the fighting, I managed to rally them to do so. The para-demons hovered apart from us for a moment, and in that time, I had them levitate our common Mother above us, and touch it in unison, and concentrate on what was beyond themselves, and beseech her and the Source for help. And I kept my back in contact with the Source. 

"That was when the four of us were both shunted away, taken from the plane of New Genesis, and united. With ourselves, and with something more. With a spirit, and with more than that...I believe it was part of the Source. And when he and we appeared in a new form and shape, we knew who the sixth among us was. None of us had to ask. 

"He only said to the para-demons, 'I have heard. I am here. I am the Infinity Man.' And so he was. 

"Within five minutes' time, he put the demons to flight, those he did not disable entirely. They Boom Tubed back to Apokolips, to what mercies Darkseid would deliver. After the Tube was closed, the Infinity Man vanished again, and we reappeared in New Genesis. From that moment on, we knew our fates would be as one. From that moment on, we were in truth what Orion had called us in jest. The Forever People. 

"But Darkseid would not be balked then, and he came for me personally a week later, Boom Tubing in, snatching me from among my friends, robbing me of my senses. He was gone before they could follow. But they knew where I was, because they could track the transmissions of my personal Mother Box. That was when they mounted Big Bear's sky-cycle and Tubed to Earth. There they met Superman, who rescued me from Darkseid with the Infinity Man's help. Darkseid thought, then, that I possessed the Anti-Life Equation. He was only looking for the wrong thing. 

"You know the rest. How we spent a term on Earth, and then on Adon. How I came to be here. That is my story." 

"So," said Granny. "It could be that you possess the Life Equation because of your direct connection, even for so small a time, with the Source." 

"I was probably born with it," said D'reema. 

"It makes no difference," Granny said. "It was a shame that Highfather didn't give you to Darkseid as well. The Dread Lord would have given you to Granny. Granny would have made you into the warrior that you should have been. Taught you discipline, and strength, and courage, and, above all, obedience! Yes, obedience to Granny and to the Dread Lord himself. Young D'reema, do you not know what you have missed in your upbringing–" 

So taken was Granny with her rhetoric that it took her a few moments to notice D'reema was missing. 

"What?" she shouted, in astonishment. "Where have you gone? What have you–" 

Then it struck her. The Mistress of Illusions was simply plying her trade. 

Granny's eyes narrowed. She splayed her arms out and walked forward, carefully. "Come here, Miss Snooty Baggage," she called. "Come here, and let Granny show you–-AHHHH!" 

The cry was prompted by what looked like the floor opening beneath her feet, leaving her standing on nothingness, with molten lava, flames, and red, pointed-tailed demons far below her. 

Granny caught herself on hands and knees before she could bring herself to shut her eyes and convince herself it was unreal. 

"There's no escape from this cell, missy," she said. "Even I haven't got a key. Now, I'm going to open my eyes and you're going to stop all this foolishness." 

When she opened them, she found herself within a world of whiteness. 

Everything about her was blank. No walls, no ceiling, no floor, just blankness. Granny walked cautiously forward and barked her shin on the edge of the bench on which she had sat. On impulse, she felt for the edge, then reached under it. She heard something scampering away. 

"You mustn't tease Granny like that," she cooed. "It could make Granny very, very angry." 

The world became blacker than pitch, and the change in light intensity threw Granny off her game for a moment. But that was simpler to adjust to. She simply closed her eyes and listened for the sound of breathing. Granny reached her hand out, felt until she contacted the wall of the cell, and walked around it, her other arm outstretched. The cell was not that large. If she kept walking, sooner or later she would contact something. 

Quickly, far quicklier than would have been believed for a woman of her girth, Granny whirled and reached behind her. She brushed something solid, something human, something which barely got away from her. Granny lunged in that direction, her eyes popping open. 

Before her, the surroundings changed from blackness to whiteness rapidly, over and over again, many times in succession. Then confusing optical patterns, hypnotic spirals, angles that could not exist in reality, were seen. A thousand Granny Goodnesses charged towards her, replaced by Darkseids, Orions, and even Mr. Miracles. Then, finally, the room was filled with dozens of Beautiful Dreamers. 

All of them spoke in unison, their mouths in perfect synchronization. "Which of us will you choose, Granny? Which of us is the real D'reema?" 

"All of you, as far as I'm concerned!" snarled Granny, lunging into the phantom group. On impulse, she fell to the floor and rolled on it like a human steamroller. Before her prey could avoid her, Granny felt the touch of a human leg and grabbed for it. D'reema tried to leap above her, but it was too late. The big woman's ham hand clenched her ankle with a grip of titanium steel. 

D'reema kicked at her viciously, without effect. Granny cackled, and, keeping a grip on the girl's ankle, reached up and pinned her to the floor with a hand to her throat. "Now, missy," she said, looking down into her face with eyes of hatred, "you'll see what Granny does to little girls who play nasty games with her." 

"I think not," said another voice. 

The two of them whipped their heads around to see the speaker. His face was visible in an open barred plate in the door. Neither of them said a word. Both were lucky they were still able to breathe. 

"No harm shall come to her," said Darkseid. "Unless I decree it." 

Then he was gone. 

The two women sat on the floor for several long moments, unable to move. Then, finally, Granny got up, moved shakily to the bench, and sat down with a huff. She patted the space beside her. 

"Sit down, Missy," she said, "and tell me some more about your life on New Genesis." 

-S- 

Dr. Fate had asked for Amethyst to be brought to him, so she was. The rest of the Magic Squad accompanied her, except for Nightmaster, who was with the Warlord. Fate and Dr. Mist were sitting on a curbside of a Metropolis street. It was hard to tell, given Fate's full-face helmet, but he didn't look good to her. 

"Blessings," said Fate. "You and I may be key to this battle." 

"Um," said Amy, kneading her hands tensely and absently. "I'm not sure how, sir." 

"Your father, Amy," Fate spoke, sitting a bit straighter and looking almost as though it pained him. "He was a Lord of Order in human form. As am I, when I wear this helmet. Together, we may provide the power that can overthrow Mantis." 

"If we are lucky," said Mist, ruefully. 

Jennifer Morgan stepped up and put protective hands around Amethyst's shoulders. "Just a minute, Doctor. You're not talking any male-female magic, are you? Amy here may look big, but she's just a girl. I won't have any of that stuff, no matter who her father's supposed to be." 

"I am not speaking of magic on that level," said Fate, tiredly. "I refer to the union of a Lord and Lady of Order on a more aesthetic plane. No physicality involved." 

"All the same," said Jennifer, "if you want something like that, you try somebody older. I mean that." 

Amethyst put her hand on Jennifer's. "No, Jen, I think I know what he's talking about. Uniting our powers, not our, well, physical bodies. But this Lady of Order stuff, what is it? I just thought I was a princess from another dimension. Well, and a normal girl, of course." 

"So much more than that," said Fate. "So much more. If you heed me, Amy, we may be able to help defeat Mantis. But not to destroy him, regrettably." 

Amy blurted out her next sentence. "Well, then, who will kill him?" 

Fate said nothing. After a moment, Dr. Mist said, "Such questions are best not answered, Lady Amethyst, before the deed is done." 

Shade, Mellu, and Jennifer looked at Amethyst intently. The girl in the purple dress took a long time to make up her mind. All of five seconds. 

She looked at the Daily Planet building in the near distance, and then at the two master magicians sitting on the curb. 

"Tell me what you want me to do," she said.   


-S- 

On New Genesis, Superboy had been with Izaya on a routine inspection of the troops and war equipment, and was awed by what he saw. There seemed to be enough firepower here to level Krypton. He had been introduced to the commanders, and had been accepted by them, which was gratifying. 

When the two of them returned to the palace, they found a colorful complement waiting for them. Metron, in a new Mobius Chair. Lightray. Mr. Miracle. Big Barda. Oberon. The Female Furies. The Forever People. Zatanna. Lady Quark. Alex Luthor. Pariah. All of them were standing in the courtyard, and there wasn't a smile among them. 

Mark Moonrider was the first to speak. "Highfather, we have to go after D'reema. There's no time to waste. We're going." 

Highfather stood before him, resolute. "You will not, Moonrider. Not alone. Darkseid's forces are on high alert. Alone, or even in the unit you now form, you would be destroyed." 

"With all respect, Highfather," said Lady Quark, "we don't have long in any case. And we're powerful in our own right." 

Izaya surveyed them all, like a general inspecting his troops. "So is Darkseid. Especially when he is that close to his goal. My armies are rallied. They will be the key to this battle. Sending the lot of you in alone...that would be suicide. And it would lose us our very hope to recover my daughter, to save Orion's mind, and to thwart Darkseid. If such may be done. It is my decree that we wait five hours, no more than that, for the advent of the Green Lanterns. They have been summoned, and they have given me good faith that they will appear." 

Big Bear was the next to speak. "And if they don't show up in five hours, Highfather? What, then?" 

The king of New Genesis looked at his younger subject and spoke again. "Then we go in anyway," he said. "Prepare yourself for war." 

  
Next: The end of the Battle of Metropolis, and more.   
  



	32. Part 32:  The Battle of Metropolis

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 32 

by DarkMark 

The three Martians had the advantage of invisibility. Unfortunately, they couldn't use much of their other powers in that status. That was why two of them remained unseen while J'onn J'onzz spearheaded the attack. 

Atop the Daily Planet building, Mantis saw him. The Martian Manhunter was closing fast. Not as fast as his peak speed would have allowed him, true, but quickly enough. The other two flanking him, unseen, had some of their flight speed drained by their invisible state. This was risky. Like grasping the flamesnake in his lair, bare-handed. 

Still, it was no more nor less than all else he had been asked to do, most of his adult life. So J'onn J'onzz came on. 

Mantis was there. Mantis, parasite of power. In his body rested the stolen energies of magic and science, of occult and atomic power, and so much more. Surrounded by a few flunky villains, deadly in their own right, but not really the Martian's problem. 

"Come at me, green man," said Mantis, loudly enough for him to hear it. "Come at me and die." 

J'onn J'onzz opened his mouth and blew. 

Martian Breath, as the power was called, wasn't quite as powerful as Kryptonian super-breath. But it did the job. Especially when Mantis wasn't expecting it. A gale force wind struck the villain and toppled him from his perch. A look of surprise and anger crossed the Apokoliptic's face, just before he fell from below the big Planet globe atop the building. 

He didn't fall far. The glider membranes under his arms caught the wind and buoyed him up. Mantis had his hands up, pointed at the green man before him, and was unleashing energy that could have poked holes in Fort Knox without obstruction. But by that time, J'onn J'onzz had turned invisible. 

The two Martians flanking Mantis did the opposite, and hit him hard. 

Both of them had power enough to tangle with Kryptonians and at least make a good start. T'omm J'onzz and J'en R'ass smashed into the green-clad villain like a pair of pistons, and they could tell that, for all his power, Mantis was hurt. An instant later, J'onn J'onzz himself joined in the assault, visible, smashing punches at whatever area the other two weren't punching, blasting away with his Martian vision. Together, the three of them might have taken down Superman. 

But Mantis had absorbed too much power. He braced his back against the wall of the Planet building some thirty-five stories up, raised his palms, shouted, and sent forth a power-burst that repelled the three of them with crushing force. 

His right hand came up and glowed with sparking power. "There's been altogether too little killing," he said, favoring the few villains who still clustered atop the Planet Building and the battling masses below who could hear him. "Time we changed that." 

That was when four streams of atomic power hit him right in the face. 

"Pour it on, Firehawk, pour it," said Firestorm, his flaming head like a beacon, his face grim and set. His hands and those of Firehawk, his female partner, were outstretched and blasting nuclear energy right into the parasite's body. 

"'Storm, this isn't the way," she said. "He's gonna suck it up like a Sno-Cone and turn it back against us." 

"We don't have a choice," he said, pointing one hand upward, unleashing his transformative power, and turning a water tower into a fluid-covered fist that slammed Mantis against the side of the building. "Try and overload him." 

"What about the Martians?" 

There was no time to worry about them. Mantis, roaring, tore the metal-and-water fist apart and launched himself at them. His hands were outstretched, and he meant to place them on Firehawk's face and crush it to pieces. 

But there were others in the battle, despite their being many stories below. And one of them created a gravity well that bisected Mantis's path, causing him to drop from the air as if an angel had pushed him from above. With a cry of surprise and anger, Darkseid's warrior plummeted, hit the street, broke through the surface. Firestorm and Firehawk breathed a sigh of relief. 

It wouldn't last for long, but while it did, they were grateful to Geo-Force, to whom they waved. 

J'onn J'onzz, falling, struggled to use his imitative powers, elongated his arm a la Ralph Dibny, and caught a cornice of a neighboring skyscraper. His green, strong fingers closed about it as he retracted his arm, allowing him to cling to it safely. As soon as he did so, the thought came to him: What of J'en and T'omm? 

He looked outward and saw J'en in the hands of a flying figure quite as alien as himself. 

Her rescuer had blue skin, flaming red hair, and a purple-and-white uniform. On his chest, a white triangular medallion was visible. He was not of this world; that much was clear to J'onzz. 

"Stranger," he said, "thank you for saving her. She is my beloved, and I am J'onn J'onzz of Mars." 

"You are fortunate," said the blue man in an even voice. "I lost my beloved. I am Mikaal Tomas of the Outerworlds. Some here call me Starman." 

J'en, regaining her strength, said, "J'onn, where is T'omm?" 

"Down here," said another Martian voice. 

The two of them looked below and saw, impossibly enough, T'omm J'onzz lying in the midst of a human net strung across a wide Metropolis street, anchored by elastic legs twisted around facing buildings. The net was composed of the bodies of Plastic Man and Elongated Man, both of whom looked up at the others and smiled. "He's safe, gang," said Plas. 

The Creeper, standing on a ledge just above Plas's left foot, said, "Which is more than most of the rest of us can say, compadre." 

"Look out, look out, look OUT!" yelled Halo, doing a fly-by from above. The complement of heroes saw what she was talking about immediately. With a terrific roar and a fireball to boot, pieces of street came vaulting upward. Ralph and Plas immediately disengaged, with the Elongated Man bearing T'omm to safety on the side of the building he grasped. They got away just before the atomic burst came up between them. The heat and fire weakened the Martian trio badly. 

Firestorm and Firehawk darted in, using their transmuting powers to change the nukeburst into a hail of feathers. But their powers were taxed, thanks to their foe's absorption of them. When Mantis raised his head above ground again, the two of them took to helping get their fellow heroes out of harm's way. 

"You feed me with every blow!" raged Mantis, in ecstasy. "You empower me with every stroke! Now, feel the might of Mantis!" 

Even as he unleashed a wall of atomic power at them, Geo-Force caused a wall of street, earth, and concrete to contain it. Lead of the Metal Men appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and formed a colossal dome of his body to overlay it. Halo blasted Mantis with her stasis aura just before the Lead-dome came down, trying to retard his power. 

Starfire helped get the rest of the heroes out of the way, then dive-bombed over the jiving mass of superhumanity brawling in the streets, peppering friend and foe alike with starbursts that shot just over their heads. "Get out of the way! All of you! Get to safety, now!" 

The Flash sped through the melee, trying to force the combatants to a safer place downstreet, and dealing out a few knocks to the opposition as he did so. 

"We...could not...stop him," muttered J'onn J'onzz. 

Who could? Superman and his friends? The Marvel Family? Perhaps. Perhaps he was even beyond them. 

All they had was the material at hand with which to work. Mantis wouldn't be satisfied with just baiting heroes to attack him anymore. 

He was climbing out of the hole in the pavement. 

He was readying himself for a strike. 

-S- 

All Nightmaster knew was that he didn't want to be there. 

He had fallen in behind the Warlord, not knowing whether he should have or not, and not knowing that he had much of a choice. They were shortly joined by another sword-wielder, a short and deadly Asian woman in a red and yellow costume who swung a katana and didn't seem much to give a damn whether or not anybody got out of her way before she swung it. Mostly, they did. 

Dear God, what am I getting into here? Are they dragging me into a killing? 

Travis Morgan looked back a moment. "Kid. Lift 'em. We don't have time for stragglers here." 

Nightmaster whacked a Gotham villain known as the Black Spider a good one with the flat of his humming blade. "Don't know if I want in on this campaign, captain," he said in a surly manner. 

The Grasshopper, another long-forgotten foe of Batman, tried to spring at Morgan. The white-haired man kneed him hard, almost nonchalantly, and took no note of him when the villain sprawled in the street. "You don't have a choice," he said, and looked tougher than Clint Eastwood when he said it. 

"I always have a choice," said Nightmaster, defiantly. 

Katana looked at them. "Will you, when others die because of what you have not done? Come with us, you young fool!" 

Nightmaster hesitated again. In that moment, another adversary dropped from a ledge above them, but not upon him. This time, the target was Katana, and the attacker caught her from behind. His name was the Copperhead, he was an original member of the Super-Villain Society, and his limbs and prosthetic tail held her fast in a crushing grip that did not permit her to use her sword. 

That wasn't the bad part. The venomous fangs of his helmet spread wide, and readied themselves to be buried in her exposed face. 

Jim Rook heard a yell, felt some muscles in action, saw his perspective change, saw a sword before him, held firmly, ramming into the shoulder of Copperhead through muscles and bones, making the super-villain scream, pinning him to a brick wall, his deadly jaws flailing helpless in agony. 

Then he withdrew the sword, his hand beginning to feel the wetness of the blood that dripped down its shaft and guard, and Copperhead fell writhing and screaming on the ground, clutching his ruined right shoulder. 

Katana looked at him. "My thanks, Nightmaster," she said, and raised her sword. 

Travis Morgan caught her arm by the wrist. "No," he said. "Nothing more needs be done to that one." To Nightmaster he said, "Well, son? Still think you're not one of us?" 

Jim Rook looked for a long time at the maimed villain rolling on the ground. "I think I did what I had to," he said, finally. 

Morgan nodded. "Come on," he said. "It isn't finished yet." 

-S- 

Dr. Fate stood with his back to a lamppost. Jennifer Morgan, still hovering protectively over Amethyst, reached out to touch him in sympathy. Beneath his golden helmet, he sighed. 

"I've just put in a telepathic call to the Society, and to Isis," he said. "We can get them here, but it'll probably be done by the time they get here." 

"If we succeed," said Dr. Mist. 

"Even if we don't," said Fate. 

Jennifer cast a glance towards Amy. Despite her brave front, the nervousness underneath it was visible. Well, that was just fine. In her purple boots at this moment, Jen allowed she'd be nervous as hell, too. As for Dad's suicide mission...well, best not to even think of that at the moment. 

Dear God, why did I take lessons in magic in the first place? It's been an aid, an empowerment of sorts, in Skartaris and here, but...such a deadly burden as well. 

But not all warriors wielded swords, after all. 

Shade and Mellu Loron stood by, waiting for what was to begin. They had hand-weapons from their world of Meta ready, in case someone from the ranks of the opposition should try to attack the mages before their work could be accomplished. Shade cast an eye at the battleground some blocks distant, as much of it as he could see through the buildings between them. "The enemy is advancing," he said. 

"We're lucky they've waited this long," said Mellu, and checked the rooftops for snipers as she did so. 

Dr. Fate reached out his gold-gloved hands and lay them on Amy's shoulders. They felt reassuringly human to her. "Grasp my arms, Amy," said Fate. She did so, holding onto them just above the elbows. 

With her inner nature, she could feel a hint of his power. 

Dr. Mist lay a hand on a shoulder each of Amy and Fate, resolved to be the buffer in the event which was to come. He had seen much since his immersion in the Flame of Life at Kor, thousands of years ago, but he wagered he had seen nothing quite like what was to come. 

"This is a thing of the Spirit, Amy," said Dr. Fate in his more-than-human voice. "As is all magic. But ours are spirits which differ from those of common mankind. Mine is the indwelling of a Lord of Order. Yours is one of a Lady of Order. We must form Union. Not with our flesh-bodies, but with our other-bodies. Will you accept this burden?" 

Amethyst hesitated only a second. "I will," she said. 

"So be it," said Fate. That was all he needed to say. 

Then it began. 

An instant before, Amethyst had only been looking at the man in the helmet with her physical eyes. Now, as a strange flow of half-felt energy poured from his arms into her body, finding the forces it needed there, kindling them to action, and circulating them back into his own form and back to her again, she saw more than that. More even than the aura men had hypothesized lay about every human body. Even with mystic sight, it was impossible to see it all. As if it lay within six or more dimensions, and she was only equipped so see three, or perhaps four. 

A being overlay the blue-and-gold aspect of Dr. Fate, and she could tell that a similar one must be coming from her, as well. 

More than that, her consciousness was infused into the Being, as was Fate's. Her femaleness, young as it was, melded and matched with his maleness, as old as it was. Yet the things within them were Old, indeed. The particles which composed them were as orderly as cells in a honeycomb, as the atomic pattern of a diamond, as squares on a checkerboard, natural and manufactured at the same time. Ordered. 

Order. 

Dr. Mist chanted in a language earlier than any known on Earth at present, adding his own powers to stabilize the mix. This was as precise and deadly as experimentation with high explosives in the physical realm. A mage of less expertise would have been doomed within seconds. He managed. 

Shade looked upon the tableau of three. The M-Vest heightened his perceptions just a tad, enough for him to see an iota of what was going on. He didn't like looking at it. The manifestation was more than any illusion he had ever produced to frighten a foe. 

The Being leapt up from the forms of Dr. Fate and Amethyst, and the two bodies left behind collapsed flat on the pavement, still entwined. Dr. Mist followed them down. He still maintained contact. He saw the Being arcing above the nearby buildings, pausing for a moment at its apex, then heading downward. 

A breakout squad of villains poured out of an alley. Shade couldn't recognize a one of them, or he might have named them as Major Disaster, the glowing Dr. Double X, the Rainbow Raider, Hawkman's old foe Chac, the Golden Glider, Lady Lunar, and, yes, even the Kryptonite-hearted Metallo II. 

"Those are the two," said Metallo, pointing at the prone sorcerers' bodies while running forward. 

"Come and get them," said Shade, activating the horrific illusion-power of his vest and aiming his gun. 

But Metallo found himself dumped off his feet by a sidewise tackle from a red-and-blue costumed man who shot from around the side of a building. The both of them skidded on the street, striking sparks as they scarred the asphalt. Metallo was in no mood for this. Snarling, he reached out a hand, grasped the street, dug in his fingers, and stopped their motion. Then he pulled back his other hand, balled it into a fist, and let fly at his opponent's face. He expected it to go right through the man's head. 

It struck, and it hurt. As a matter of fact, it bloodied the hero's nose. But the older man in the red, white, and blue costume gave him a solid look back. 

"I was takin' worse than that forty years ago, Kilroy," said Commander Steel. "Let's see how you like this!" 

And Metallo learned that more persons than himself could sport a metallic-hybrid body, and that they could hit hard, too. 

Three others turned up from the same source, all of them friends of Superman and Batman. One of them, Sonik, a black hero from Metropolis, blasted Major Disaster off his feet with his vibratory weapon. Dr. Double X unleashed a power blast from his energy form that almost rendered Sonik unconscious, but was in turn counterblasted by Swordfish and Barracuda, a male-female team who hadn't been seen in several months but whose powers were nonetheless up to the challenge. 

"We've got more than enough power to keep 'em busy," advised Lady Lunar, the group leader. "Go ahead and waste those fools." 

Shade stood his ground and aimed his weapon, then loosed a burst of destruction that barely missed the flying Lunar and Golden Glider. Chac, the Aztec wonder-worker, raised an ancient talisman and produced a glowing bolt that hit the ground near Shade's feet, knocking him and Mellu sprawling. 

"Yours," grinned Chac. 

But behind the fallen heroes, a section of building wall began to glow, warp, and open up, disclosing several new arrivals to the battle. Shade and Mellu raised themselves up as quickly as possible, hurt though they were, to see if they were welcoming friends or foes. 

Uncle Sam led his band through the barrier. In his wake came the Ray, the Human Bomb, the Black Condor, the Phantom Lady, Usa, Doll Man, Mr. Mystic, and Firebrand. They broke ranks around the fallen five and reformed in a group in front of them. 

Sam began to roll up his sleeves. "Looks like we picked a good time, brothers," he said. "At 'em!" 

Commander Steel, grappling with Metallo, looked at the new crew and grinned. "Do me a favor and fold up fast, pard. I want to shake hands with that ol' boy. Haven't seen him since 1942." 

Metallo only growled. 

-S- 

Mantis surged forward, blasting away with both hands, and the heroes gave way. Atomic power, latent Green Lantern energy, magic...it all seemed combined within those bursts. The backwash that struck the building walls of Metropolis's business district melted and penetrated the stone and steel, and made some of them sway dangerously. 

The downtown section was, to a large extent, a disaster area. 

Even those who stood with the Apokolips agent kept well away from him. The light of madness was in his eyes–-how could it be otherwise, when he had consumed so much power?–-and there was no guarantee that being his ally was much more safe than being his target. 

Cyborg didn't even bother trying to blast him with his sonic beam anymore. He just concentrated on helping get himself and his fellow heroes out of the way. The Shining Knight and Team Metropolis, the remnant of the Justice League, the New Titans, and the Outsiders, all fell back. There was no choice. Mantis had even guarded himself against Geo-Force's gravity well power. 

He advanced, and they fell back. 

The Dial H team vaulted forward, hitting him with Tsunami's water power, Kid Rock's earth-heaving might, Firebolt's flame-blasts. For a second, Mantis spluttered. Then he raged forward with a sweeping burst of green and red power which sent the threesome sprawling. Giantboy scooped the trio up in his massive hands and retreated. 

"We need Superman," said Nightwing, among the retreating group. "We need the Lanterns. Why don't they come?" 

"Ask God that question," Batman snapped, "because I don't know." 

Starfire blasted forth plasma from her hands to set up a barrier across the street, separating her and her allies from Mantis and his troops. It gave them a few seconds' respite, but the villain in green and gold strode through it, cloaked in flames for a moment, then walking forward as the starstuff fell away and sizzled on the pavement. The villains behind him stopped, seeking one of them whose powers could breach the barrier. 

Then, from above: 

STOP. 

Mantis, and those with and against him, looked up. 

Above them, in the sky, overshadowing the tops of the buildings, hovered a Being. 

Its shape was colossal, humanoid, but hard to see in definition. Its dimensions extended into realms beyond the Fourth. What facial features it had shifted, sometimes quasi-male, sometimes quasi-female. For a Being of Order, it seemed curiously chaotic. But that was just in human perception. 

NO FURTHER, WARRIOR. 

"In the Pit," snarled Mantis. "Do they send gods against me? Very well, I challenge a god!" 

With that, he pointed his arms upward and blasted. 

The impact was staggering, spattering the energies of Magic and Science across the great chest of the Being of Order. It kept on for fully half a minute, and the backflash from it was blinding. The Metal Men formed a cover over the heroes present to protect them from fallout. 

Finally, Mantis ceased his barrage. He stood there, hands smoking, breathing heavily, looking upward. 

The Being was still there. 

NOW—OUR POWER, it said. 

It pointed a massive hand at Mantis, and a beam of white-hued power engulfed him in a moment. The heir of Apokolips screamed in pain. 

For a long moment, it looked as though the parasite villain was finished. He went to his knees, battered, smashed, almost destroyed by the power of the Union above him. 

Then his scream turned to a snarl, as he began to suck in the power that was directed against him. 

Mantis's body grew more massive, expanded, as the power of the universe's magic infused him from a direct tap. He was pulling forth power from the Being, and the Being apparently could not stop him. Mantis's aspect began to subtly change, as if he, too, were growing aspects that could not be contained by three primary dimensions. 

As if he were becoming like unto the Being itself. 

And, while over a hundred heroes and villains stood back in terror to watch the transfiguration and battle... 

...three others broke through and ran for him. 

All of them were bearing swords. 

Mantis looked at the two men and the woman coming at him. All of them bore the look of humans who knew they would not survive the battle, but would do their best to kill the enemy in the act. Well, all short but one. 

The man in the black cloak with the humming sword looked like he didn't really want to be there, somehow. 

"Fools," rasped Mantis, in the voice of a demon. They heard it and still came on. 

With the merest effort of the mind, Mantis sent blue-fire sparks from his body. They arced from him, struck the threesome. Katana and the Warlord grimaced, staggered, went down. 

The Nightmaster stood, shaking, as the blue fire played up and down his sword. 

But he did not fall. 

Mantis actually smiled. "I am busy," he said. "But I'll make time for you." 

Jim Rook looked at the writhing forms of Katana and Travis Morgan and met the latter's eyes for a moment. Just a moment. That was enough. 

"NOOOOOOOOO–-" 

It was as good a berserker howl as he knew how to give. But it achieved its purpose. 

Mantis blasted away at him again with a bolt whose magic content would have withered Superman. For a long instant, it did show the very skeleton of Jim Rook, in a fluroscopic image. But there was a difference between Jim Rook and Superman. 

Superman did not wield the singing Sword of Night. 

And even as the demon of Apokolips prepared to unleash the stolen energy of a Green Lantern upon his too-persistent, too-aggravating foe, the Nightmaster hefted his sword back in a stroke that sent it almost to his own spine, gave Mantis a stare that even made the parasite prime stop stock-still for a moment, and then, with all the power he could command... 

...swung it forward and up and over and down... 

...until it slammed into the helmet that covered Mantis's head and bisected it... 

...and did the same to the head underneath... 

...and kept on until it was buried quite in the neck. 

There was no way Jim Rook could hang onto the singing sword at that moment. He fell backward, rolling, covering his eyes, until he rested half-over the legs of Warlord and Katana. With his cloak before his face, he chanced a guarded look before him. 

Mantis's body was still standing, with the sword still within it. 

But, of a sudden, with a SHRAAAAAKKK! of unearthly noise, a blast of white and yellow and green and even red energy spurted up from the wound like a geyser, coursing up and up and up until it entered the body of the Being of Order, giving back the energy which was stolen, giving back that and more, giving back the power of Firestorm and Firehawk, of the Green Lanterns, of all the heroes whose powers had been stolen to fuel the agent of Darkseid. 

It was blinding, and Jim Rook turned his eyes away. 

Mantis's body was splitting open, like a ripe husk, and something shriveled was falling away from within. It was horrible to look upon, and, fortunately, Nightmaster was not looking. Some of the heroes and villains managed it, though, only briefly. 

"My God," said Nightwing, from behind a barricade. 

"It's almost done, Dick," said Batman, an arm about his shoulders. "It's almost done." 

Jennifer Morgan charged through, an arm before her face. "Lady, no," said Halo, who started after her. Metamorpho reached out a copper-springed arm and snagged his teammate. 

"Let her go," he said. "She's his daughter." 

Jennifer slammed down to her knees on the street over Katana and Warlord, slapped her palms down on the pained bodies of the warriors, and spoke a spell she had never used before and never had hoped to. Like Raven, it gave her the power to channel and dissipate pain. And it worked all too well. 

"Oh...dear...God...", she cried, feeling the agony of the two before her for just a moment. But it was enough. She cried, unashamed. 

And then the power-chain from Mantis to the Being was finished, withdrew into the Being's body, and left the charred dual-hulk of Mantis and the thing which had been within him to fall in two pieces. The Sword of Night clanked on the pavement. 

The Being, above, hesitated a moment, then splayed its fingers and blasted away the excess energy which Mantis had stolen. Then, it turned in a graceful arc and sped away towards a double destination only a few blocks away. 

Dr. Mist, waiting tensely to guard the forms of Dr. Fate and Amethyst, looked up and saw the great Thing approaching. He breathed a sigh of relief. Uncle Sam and his partners, having put the final touches on their foes, tensed at its sight. 

"It's all right, Uncle," said Mist. "It is one of ours." 

"If you say so, Doctor," replied Sam, still looking unconvinced. 

Only Mist's senses were well-honed enough to see the Order Being split into two forms, a Lord and Lady of Order, and quickly whisk within the helmet of Fate and the body of Amethyst. Seconds later, Amy's and Fate's breathing began to return to normal from their trance-states. Fate began to bestir himself. Amethyst moaned softly, rubbed her eyes, opened them. 

"Welcome back," said Mist, gently. 

"Fate," said Amy. "Did we..." 

The golden helmet nodded, slightly. "Come with me, my lady." He stood, and held out his gloved hand. 

Amethyst took it. With a slight effort, Fate took them both into the skies. 

They touched down a few seconds later on Ground Zero, near the twin-corpse of Mantis. The armies of heroes and villains were still keeping their distance, but looking tentatively at each other. The Warlord had his weeping daughter in his arms and was comforting her. Katana sat beside Nightmaster, who had his head buried in his own arms in anguish. 

Amy shrunk against Fate in horror at the sight. 

"Who...who are they?" 

The sorceror swung his gaze towards what was left of Mantis, shrivelled, gutted, and bisected to the neck. "This was Mantis. The high-warrior of Darkseid. I knew he had power, but never thought he had power enough alone to do what he did in this battle. Now I know why." 

He gestured towards the second corpse, which, in the evening light, was as ravaged as that of Mantis, but whose skin had a strange purple, scaly tone. "This is the Parasite. His abilities are similar to that of Mantis, but more intense. Darkseid must have found a way of melding the both of them. The gods only know how." 

"What do we do now?" she said. 

"We shall see," he replied. Grasping her hand, he walked her over to Nightmaster and Katana. 

Jim Rook still had his head buried in his arms. "Get away from me," he said, as Katana touched him. 

"I will not," she said, firmly. 

"I said, GET AWAY!" 

"Speak to me, Nightmaster," she said. "You have won a great victory. You may have saved the world. You have done nothing of which you should be ashamed." 

"He has killed," observed Fate. 

Jim Rook took his arms away from his face and stared at them, balefully, painfully. "Yeah. Yeah, I killed. I killed a man. Me. Mister Peacenik. I took my little sword out and I, just like friggin' Conan and Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser and Elric, and I friggin' killed him." 

"Yes," said Katana. "Or he would have killed us all." 

"I didn't want to kill! I'm not supposed to kill!" 

"Kid," said the Warlord, still holding Jennifer in his arms, "did you think you ever had a choice?" 

Jim Rook fell silent. 

"Pick up your sword, soldier," said Travis Morgan. 

"I..." 

"Pick up your SWORD." 

It took Jim Rook several seconds before he could get up, stand, walk on legs that did not want to obey his commands, step carefully about the bodies of the Parasite and Mantis, control a terrible urge to vomit, and, finally, stoop and pick up his sword. Its blade was clean, shined to a brilliance by the energies which had bathed it from Mantis's body. 

Once again, it hummed. 

With a single swift motion, Jim Rook returned it to its scabbard. 

He turned to see the Warlord standing before him. 

"It's always like this the first time, kid," said Morgan, gently. "Take my hand." 

Without a word, and giving him the look that a new-blooded warrior gives to a veteran, Nightmaster grasped the Warlord's hand. 

Travis Morgan turned the both of them to face the mass of villains before them. Behind them, Katana, Fate, Amethyst, and Jennifer stood at the ready. The massed heroes of Metropolis rallied, and began to move forward. 

"I'd say this battle's over," said the Warlord, loudly, his sword hefted. "Unless you really think you've got something to prove." 

Most of the players of both ranks hesitated, considered what was before them, and thought of how little there was to gain. At least, in the wake of Mantis's death. 

But one among the enemy shoved aside several of his fellows and barged to the front. His uniform was predominantly green, with a swastika chest symbol. His hair was blonde and crew-cut, and a Heidelberg dueling scar lent extra cruelty to a face which already possessed such in abundance. 

"I have something to prove," said Captain Nazi. "Come at me, Amerikaner." 

The Warlord hefted his sword and Dr. Fate raised his hands. "Hold on," said the familiar voice of Uncle Sam, shouldering aside a couple of other heroes to get through. "He's mine." 

"Wrong," said a deep voice behind him, who gently grabbed him under the arms and moved him backwards. "He is mine." 

And with that, the Seraph stood in Uncle Sam's place. 

Bare-chested, loinclothed, booted, and wearing a yarmulke, the heir of Samson faced his foe in defiance, his long black hair blowing in the soft early-night breeze. Nazi's eyes narrowed. "You," he said. "A Juden." 

That was all it took to set the hero of Israel charging for him like a high-balling comet. 

"Hold up, friends," said Travis Morgan, his arms barring the crew beside him. "I think we've got a David and Goliath situation right now." 

Captain Nazi's strength was great enough to allow him to trade punches with the Marvel Family, and his endurance was enough to manage to survive the ones they dealt him back. He did manage to get in a few good blows of his own, and sought to land a blow that would blind his foe in one eye, after which he would concentrate on the other. 

But the Seraph only needed to land one blow. It came up from the vicinity of his waist, followed through to the level of Nazi's jaw, and shattered it beyond the capacity of even Samson to use it against an enemy. The green-cloaked, red-caped villain hit the street, skidded, and came to a stop directly before the line of villains. 

"God forgive me for what I wish to do now," muttered the Seraph. "And grant me the strength not to do it." 

Uncle Sam stepped up, put an arm about the Seraph's shoulder, and smiled at him. "Nice goin', young feller." Then, to the enemy, he turned a stern gaze. "Well, gents?" he said. 

Some of the villains did a quick huddle. Then the Mirror Master, elected their ad hoc representative, turned towards the heroes. 

"I think we'd like to discuss surrender terms," he said. 

-S- 

The Green Lanterns began arriving at New Genesis space about three hours after Highfather met with the Forever People and the Earth heroes. There was almost a confrontation between them and Izaya's orbiting defense troops, but word reached them in time for the latter to stand down. Hal Jordan led the Corpsmen and several hangers-on, including Star Sapphire, the Omega Men, the Honor Team, and two new arrivals they'd picked up at the Phantom Stranger's direction on the way. The king of New Genesis met them in his courtyard, with his allies in tow. 

Zatanna had to rush up and give Hal a big hug. "Good to see you again, GL," she said. "Glad to know you made it, too." 

Star Sapphire lay a hand on her arm. "Honey, don't get too familiar, okay? I'm not only his wife, I'm his boss. I can fire him." 

"Maybe time to circulate my resume when I get back home," said Hal, jokingly. "But let's save it for later, okay? Right now, give us the facts, sir, and we'll take action." 

Highfather said, "In brief, Darkseid has a bit over a day, if we are lucky, before he breaks down my son's captive mind and fathoms the Anti-Life Equation. Apokolips is shrouded by a double layer of shadow-demons and Kryptonite radiation. Below that will be whatever defenses Darkseid can muster, and even at impaired capacity, they will be devastating. He also holds my daughter D'reema captive—if he has not killed her outright. The sheaths about his planet must be penetrated, that we of New Genesis may make war." 

Salaak said, laconically, "How droll. But we will be up to the challenge, sir." 

"You poozer, show a little respect for the guy," rumbled Kilowog. "After all, he is a king." 

Hollika Rahn, the sorceress Green Lantern of Rhoon, stepped before Izaya and did a bow of courtesy. "Send us where you will, milord. The Green Lanterns will speed the plow on your behalf." 

John Stewart rubbed his ring thoughtfully. "Been a tough tour of duty lately. But, heck, I never signed up for this thinkin' it was a block party. Want to go ahead and roll out, Hal?" 

"Don't be too eager to start before we know all the parameters, John," said Katma Tui, her white-gloved hand played about his upper arm. "Even the Corps doesn't walk into a trap without getting information first." 

Big Bear spoke up. "'Scuse me if I'm speaking out of turn, Brother Lantern. But what about Superman and our friends on Earth? Can we ring them in on this happening? We could use their muscle like badly." 

"I've already resolved on that," said Hal. "Just need a volunteer to go and get them. If they're not still in the thick of battle, that is." 

A man in a blue and black uniform and a captain's hat stepped up behind him and to his left side. "If you would, Green Lantern, my son and I would be privelaged to bear the message." 

Oberon, all four-feet-plus of him, leaned forward and squinted. "Who the devil are you, pal? I've seen lots of heroes, in the flesh and in pictures, and I've never seen you before." 

The Captain smiled. "Not surprising. We didn't exactly have a long career. My name is Captain Action, and this is my son, Action Boy." 

"Hi," said Carl Arno, beside him. "We've been away for awhile." 

"The Phantom Stranger told us where to find them," said Green Lantern. "They'd been fighting a guy called Dr. Evil, if I've got the name right, and got lost in a parallel time continuum for a bit. We bailed them out with our rings. Have a feeling we'll need all the help we can get. Okay, Captain, I'll send you and your son to Earth-One. There should be enough heroes with transport capacity to get them to Apokolips. That is, if they've won." 

John Stewart looked at Hal, surreptitiously. It had hurt his friend to have to walk out on the battle with Mantis's forces, and it showed. 

"You say it's been years since we left," said Captain Action. "Is Supergirl still alive?" 

Surprised, Hal said, "Yes. Yes, she is. When I saw her a few days ago, at least. Why?" 

"That's good," said Action. "All right, send us away." 

Hal Jordan and Arisia trained twin beams on the Action Team and watched them fade away in a coruscation of green light. They would materialize in Metropolis on Earth-1 and, hopefully, bring back reinforcements. If any reinforcements were to be had. 

"We'll need time to get our ships in position," said Izaya. "But not much." 

"We're going to get started," declared Hal. "Any of you who'd care to join us can come along." 

Lady Quark said, "I don't think you could keep any of us back, Green Lantern." 

"Definitely not," said Mr. Miracle, clenching his fist. "I have blood to settle with Darkseid." 

"Just make sure, husband," said Big Barda, "that it is not your own." 

Ch'p, the chipmunk Green Lantern, bounced up toward the front. "Jumpin' jiminy, GL, are we all done palaverin'? I want to bust a few chestnuts on this Darkseid's head for what he got us into. I'm ready to climb." 

"So are we," said Hal. His ring glowed, shot out a beam, and formed a large globe with a portal in Izaya's courtyard. "Those of you who want to come, enter this globe. But make sure not to touch the sides with anything yellow, including your costumes. We're moving out right now." 

The Forever People, Miracle, Barda, Oberon, Zatanna, Pariah, Alex Luthor, Lady Quark, Jezebelle, Bug, and the Female Furies entered the globe, which expanded slightly to accomodate them. The Omegans, the Honor Team, Metron and Lightray would travel under their own power. John Stewart sent a code-beam from his power ring to the mass of Corpsmen who were stationed in New Genesis's orbital space, signalling that their unit was coming up. 

"Let's move," said Hal, and they arose, covered in green auras to protect them from the conditions of space. The green globe was towed along with them. 

Izaya looked after them for a moment, said a prayer for Orion, and went back inside to ready his troops. 

-S- 

When Kal, Kara, and Dev used their telescopic vision to check on Metropolis, it made them speed up all the more to reach Earth. 

Dev chanced a look with his X-ray vision at their passengers within the metal globe they had constructed. Not sure all this acceleration is good for them, El,> he stated. 

Let them puke,> said Superman, baring his teeth. 

So the Kryptonian threesome entered Earth's atmosphere too late to affect the battle against Mantis, using their superbreath to cool the globe from air friction, and were soon beheld in the skies over Metropolis. 

Metamorpho looked up. "Hey. Should I say, 'It's a bird'?" 

"Oh, Rex, act your age," said Element Girl, disgustedly. 

Supergirl looked at the devastation in Metropolis's business district, grimly. Luckily enough, there were few corpses to compliment it. Just a mass of heroes taking charge of a mass of villains, Federal troops moving in tentatively to reestablish order, and a large and daunting mass of wreckage. 

"My city," said Superman. "My workplace. My God." 

Kara knew what he was feeling. Kal rarely swore, especially in her presence. "Easy, cousin," she said. "At least not too many people are dead." 

He turned a face back to her that was frightening in its intensity. "Kara," he said, "shut up." 

She didn't say anything until they touched down, near Ground Zero of the Mantis battle. Kal looked at the fallen husks of Mantis and the Parasite, gazing on the latter's body for several seconds without a word. Then he turned to Kara and Dev and nodded. They cracked open the globe. None of the villains inside looked in the pink. 

"Good Lord, could you have made that flight any more dreadful?" complained the Lex Luthor who was native to that world. 

"Any more like that and you should have your licence revoked," agreed Vandal Savage. 

Dev-Em grabbed him by the arm. "Any more like that, and I'll revoke a lot more than your licence. Get me?" 

Supergirl trundled Luthor of Earth-2, Sivana, and the Hooded One out of the remains of the globe. She X-rayed them once again for hidden gimmicks, and neither was sporting any. To Luthor of Earth-1 she said, "Turn off your warsuit, Lex." 

He looked at her balefully. "Surely you jest." 

"Turn it off. Or I'll break that helmet and slap you silly." 

Without a word, Luthor touched a button in his belt and the great warsuit powered down. Kara went to him, reached around back to grasp his power source, and tore it off. He sighed. She threw it down and stomped it. 

Superman stood amidst the rubble, almost unmoving. Neither Dev, Kara, nor anybody else approached him for a few seconds. Then Batman and Nightwing broke from the crowd, and stepped towards him. Kal looked at them. 

"Where were you?" said Batman, quietly. 

Supergirl broke in. "We were on Apokolips, fighting Darkseid and his bad guys. Then we had to pick these idiots up. When we saw what was going down here, we tried to arrive in time. But it was over." 

"Yes," said Batman. "Yes, it was." 

Superman finally spoke. "I'm sorry, Batman." 

"We needed you," said Batman. "There was almost a lot of death here. We just barely avoided it." 

"Blast you, I'm sorry!" Kal glared at his old friend. "What do you think, that I can split myself like Duo Damsel? I can't be in two places at the same time. This...my city..." He gestured towards the crumbling buildings. One which had been spared much destruction was the Daily Planet building. But it, too, had been scarred. 

"The city of the people who live in it," said Batman. "And the city of the people who almost died in it. Remember that, Kal." 

The Man of Steel looked at the carnage again before answering. 

"I will remember," he said, almost in a whisper. "I will never forget. I can never forget." 

Batman lay a hand on his shoulder. "In that case, we both can. Friends, Kal?" 

"Always, Batman." He took his partner's hand and shook it. 

Lex Luthor of Earth-2 looked sneeringly at the sight. "Oh, how touching," he said. "Almost worth the entire trip here." 

Supergirl whirled and knocked him flat. He groaned, putting a hand to his mouth. Standing over him, she said, "No. That was almost worth the trip here." 

A contingent of heroes detached itself from the main mass and made its way towards the small group, but two of them made it first. One on rubbery limbs, the other on the wings of a bumblebee. "Gee, Superman," said Elastic Lad. "It's good to see you and Supergirl made it home! I want you to meet my new team in a minute." 

"Jimmy," said Kal. "Lana. It's nice to see you as well. You took part in the battle?" 

"We sure did," said Lana Lang, the Insect Queen. "Got a whole new superhero group in the process. We call ourselves Team Metropolis. Superman...Kal...I'm very glad you're not hurt." 

He looked at the woman he'd known since his days as a child in Smallville, saw the longing in the eyes behind her yellow mask, and knew that she still loved him. And there was still nothing he could do about it. She was with Pete Ross now, and that was better for all of them. It would have to be. 

"I'm very glad you weren't, either, Lana," he said. "I hope you won't be a full-time heroine. It's very dangerous. But if you do...good luck." 

She smiled. "Thanks, Kal. I appreciate that. Let me show you the rest of the team." 

The rest of Team Metropolis moved up to howdy and shake with little urging. "Superman," said the Guardian, pumping the Kryptonian's hand. "It's been too long." 

"That it has, Guardian," said Superman. "At least we aren't dealing with a giant Kryptonite Jimmy this time." 

Elastic Lad blanched. 

In turn, Black Orchid, Steel, Thorn, the Vixen, and Blue Devil made their introes, and Kal and Kara shook hands with each of them. Blue Devil, holding Kara's hand, gave her the once-over visually. "Well, hel-lo," he beamed. 

Dev stepped up. "She's taken, mate." 

"It's all right," said Dan Cassidy. "I've already got a girl. No offense." 

"Cool down, Dev, we're all on the same side," said Kara. "Nice to meet you too, Devil." 

Superman surveyed them all. "Glad we've got a team of our own in Metropolis. I'm committed to the Justice League. But if you need a hand in a tight spot, feel free to call on me. Jimmy knows how." 

"Sure do," said Elastic Lad, who kept his secret signal-watch in a costume pouch. 

"Okay," said Steel. "I think we handled ourselves pretty well in the current instance, but we appreciate your words, Superman. A lot. And if you need some help on one of your cases, give us a call. It'd be a privilege to work with you." He said it with some irony, and Superman caught it. So did Vixen. Both had been members of the short-lived second Justice League, which had been disbanded after Superman and the original members returned to the fold. 

"That being said," Steel continued, "maybe you can help in the mop-up operations, and..." 

"Son," said another voice. 

Steel turned. 

A man a costume similar to his own was making his way through the press. A man quite a bit older than Steel, and limping a bit as he walked. 

Commander Steel. 

Vixen's fingers tightened on Steel's arm as she looked upon the old man. Steel gently removed her hand. The last time these two had met, it had been in a brutal punch-up. It had culminated from a long series of events, beginning with the old man's program to have his grandson turned into a partial cyborg like himself. Hank Heywood had tried to run Hank III's life, at which point the young Steel had rebelled and helped form the second Justice League. Vixen had also been a member. 

She had been there to watch when young Steel beat his grandfather in a fist fight. 

"Gramps," said Steel, evenly. "You're hurt." 

The old man stood about ten feet away from his grandson and didn't come any closer. He looked very tired, of a sudden. Kal whispered in Kara's ear, "Stand by for action. We may have to separate them." 

"I hear you," Kara whispered back. 

"Yeah," the elder Steel answered. "But that's all right. Shoulda seen the other guy. I'm glad I got to see you, though." 

"Okay," said Steel, not giving anything away. The Guardian and Black Orchid looked at each other, then back at the two Steels, as alert for a fracas as were Superman and Supergirl. But they waited. 

"Son," said Commander Steel, "I know there's a lot of baggage between us. A lot of rotten stuff, by your lights. Maybe by mine, now. I don't know. I do know that...hell..." He looked down, trying to form words. The rest of them felt like unwanted voyeurs. Blue Devil started to say something. The Thorn silenced him with a look. 

Steel waited. 

"Okay," said the Commander. "You want to hate me for what I did to you, son, you gotta right. I guess you do." 

"I know I do," said Steel, without expression. 

"All right, all right," said the old man. "Wish we didn't have to do this in front of other people. We ought to do this in private." 

"We can do this right here," said Steel. "These are my friends." 

The Commander ventured a step closer. "I was wrong to do what I did, son, if you really didn't want me to do it. And you didn't. But if it gave you the power to do what you did today, maybe it was right, as far as that went. But maybe I still was wrong." 

"You were, gramps," said Steel. 

"Aren't you...can't you give me anything, boy? Any kind of slack?" Commander Steel's hands were open and upturned. "We've been fightin' since your dad died in 'Nam. Fightin' up till you beat me, awhile back. And you beat me fair and square. That's okay by me. That's okay, and I want you to know it. 

"But I...but you..." Commander Steel turned away for a moment, then turned back. "I don't want either one of us to die, boy, before we find a way to get together again. I don't want to see you dead, like my son, before I..." 

Steel waited. 

"Before I tell you I love you," said Commander Steel, at last. "And before I tell you I'm sorry for what I've done. And before I tell you that I'm a mean old man, and I know it. I'll get out of your life, if that's what you want. I won't try to tell you what to do. But I didn't want this day to go by before I got the chance to see you again. To talk to you. And maybe have you talk to me. Son, I'm ready to change. As much as I can change, as old as I am. Question is...are you?" 

"No, gramps," said Steel. "No, I'm not." 

The tension increased, as the old man's face fell. 

"I can't change," Steel went on, "because what I feel for you won't change. You are a mean old man, for sure. But you're also my grandfather. I always wanted to love you, but you damn well never let me. If you're willing to change that...then nothing else needs to change, gramps." 

That was all it took. If there was something wet and glittering in either of the Steels' eyes, those present were politic enough not to mention it. All they knew is that both of them were in each other's arms a second later, sealing a generational gap in a warm, masculine hug. The old man's shoulders, for all that, were shaking. 

"Gramps," said Hank Heywood III. "How hurt are you?" 

"Not bad," said Hank Heywood I. "Fought Metallo. They ain't makin' cyborgs like they used to." 

"You can say that again, Gramps," said Steel. "You can say that again, but definitely." Then he broke the hug, but kept an arm around his grandfather's shoulders. "Folks, I want you all to meet somebody. I want you to meet one of the heroes of World War II, a guy I'm mighty damn proud of. My grandfather. Commander Steel." 

Nobody had to tell the crew to cheer as he held his grandfather's hand high. And Vixen, smiling, led the applause. 

In the crowd, unnoticed by most, a new figure firmed into being where he was not, a second ago. He touched the shoulder of a helmeted youth standing beside Snapper Carr and startled the hell out of him. Mind-Grabber Kid turned, as did Snapper, and both of them saw the Phantom Stranger. 

"Lucian Crawley," he said, "you are needed." 

"Hey, what?" said the Kid. 

"P.S., it's you," said Snapper. "Don't you want to hear about the mission? And what's this with the Kid? Don't you want us all?" 

"I know of the mission," said the Stranger. "I need him. And I do not need the rest of you. Come, Lucian." 

Mind-Grabber Kid looked at Snapper for a second, then spread his hands in helplessness. "Should I?" 

"It's your choice," said Snapper. 

Lucian followed the Stranger. The two of them made their way to another hero's side. Prince Ra-Man looked at both of them in curiosity. 

"Ra-Man," he said. "You are needed." 

"For what purpose?" asked the Mind Master. 

Mind-Grabber Kid said, "You may as well come. He seems to know where the big trouble is. At least, up to now, I mean." 

Ra-Man followed, and before long, none of the three was present in Metropolis anymore. 

Back at Ground Zero, Superman was shaking the hand of Nightmaster, who looked positively haggard to Kara. She herself was comparing notes with Jennifer, who filled her in on the Mantis battle as Supergirl told her of the mission to Brainiac's satellite. They were still talking when, suddenly, a green glow appeared nearby and two heroes familiar to both Kal and Kara turned visible as it faded. The two newcomers looked around with drop-mouthed wonder. 

"Captain Action," said Superman, in astonishment. "Rao's Light. It's been years." 

"Cap," said Kara. "Action Boy. Good to see you both again. How did you get here?" 

"You know them?" said Kal. "When did you meet them, Kara? I only met them once." 

"Some other time, Kal," she said. 

"Superman, Supergirl, good to see you both," said Captain Action, holding up his hands for silence. "But time is, I'm afraid, just what we don't have. We've been sent here with a message." 

Action Boy said, "The Green Lanterns picked us up on their way to that Genesis planet. They're about to attack Apocalypse, or whatever it's called. They need your help." 

"The man called Highfather specifically requested your aid, and that of all the other heroes you can spare," confirmed the Captain. "The Lanterns are about to spearhead the push against this Darkseid. They need your help." 

"They'll have it," said Kal. "Along with any and all of the crew here who are willing to go. How much time do we have?" 

"Not long, I'd say," said Captain Action. "We can count on the support of most of the heroes here, then?" 

Before Kal could answer, he caught sight of another phenomenon in the sky. He paused, ready to go into flight, before he recognized a green glow in one direction and, beside it, a warp which disclosed the flying figures of the Marvel Family and several other heroes, Isis among them. The glow resolved itself into a platform bearing heroes he recognized from the Justice Society and Infinity, Inc., plus the Bat-Squad and some independents he had never seen before. 

When he spoke, he said, "I'd say you can count on even more than that." 

A female voice said, "Uh, excuse me? Supergirl? Can we speak?" 

Kara turned towards the one who spoke. It turned out to be a shadow, cast on a building wall, which suddenly resolved itself into a woman. "Nightshade," she said. "Don't do that, you'll give me the creeps." 

"Sorry," said Nightshade. "But I wanted to let you know that, if you'll wait, I'll see if I can get Justice Force together and bring them back here. If you'll accept the help, that is." 

Supergirl smiled. "It's not like we're big on rejecting people. How long will it take you?" 

"If they're still where I left them, maybe an hour," said Nightshade. "It takes awhile to travel between dimensions." 

Harbinger called from the crowd, "Not as long for me. Let me convey you there, Nightshade, and we'll save time." 

"Lyla," said Kara, in recognition. "Didn't see you in there. Good to see you too, girlfriend." 

"Thank you, Kara," Harbinger acknowledged. She levitated herself above the throng, then touched down in front of Nightshade. "Grasp my hand, and we'll be off." 

"O–kay," said the Darling of Darkness, and took Harbinger's hand. The two of them lifted into the air, warped out, and were gone. 

Dev-Em said, "At least she knows where Apokolips is. And has a way to get there." 

"Yeah," said Supergirl. "And...oh, holy Rao!" 

The comment was caused by the sight of a white-clad, blue-caped blonde beauty who flew from the JSA platform to land before Supergirl and Dev. She gave them a tough smile. Dev looked between both women in astonishment. 

"You mean to tell me you've got a sister?" he said. "And I didn't know?" 

"Sort of," said Kara, smirking. She approached the other woman and hugged her. "Kara. Good to see you again, honey." 

"You too, K," said the other. Still holding Supergirl with one arm, she offered a blue-gloved hand to Dev. "I'm Power Girl. What Supergirl is on this world, I am on Earth-Two. We don't get to see each other nearly enough." 

"Um," said Dev, taking her hand tentatively. "Pleased, I'm sure. You've never met a guy on your world called Dev-Em, have you?" 

"Not yet." 

"That's a relief," he said. 

Captain Marvel and Captain Marvel, Jr. were conferring with Superman. Mary Marvel caught Supergirl's eye and gave her a happy wave. Like a class reunion, thought Supergirl. In union suits. 

Finally, Superman spoke, in a voice loud enough to carry to the very edges of the crowd. "Everyone, I want your attention. I don't expect all of you to volunteer for this duty. You've all had a heavy battle. You're tired, and you have every right to be. I know you've fought valiantly, and anyone who wants to stay here is entitled. 

"But the big push against Apokolips is on. We've got just over a day to stop Darkseid, before he fathoms the Anti-Life Equation. In a moment, I'm going to head for New York and round up all the recruits I can over there. Then I'm going to talk to Lex and his friends here–" He pointed to Luthor of Earth-1. "–And we'll try and find out what they know of what we'll be facing. I estimate that we'll be moving out within an hour. The Green Lantern Corps and New Genesis have already started the fight. I plan to be with them. So does Kara, I know, and many of the others. So those of you who wish to help, be here when I get back. There are enough of us with transport powers to take those of us who don't have them. Once again, no one who does not wish to go will have it held against them." 

Nightwing sighed, and then said, loudly enough for most of them to hear, "You don't need to make the speech, Kal. We may be tired. But you know all of us are going." 

-S- 

Desaad entered the chamber of Darkseid with trepidation and not a little caution. "You sent for me, sire?" 

The great granite-colored head turned towards him, slowly. "Yes," Darkseid said. Beside him, there was only Mongul, standing against the wall, impassive, with his arms folded. 

"And Darkseid's pleasure would be?" 

The Lord of Apokolips took his time about answering. "Someone impersonated you to gain access to the palace. When it was standing." All of them were in one of the below-ground rooms which had escaped destruction in the battle. 

Desaad trembled. "That could hardly be seen as my fault, my lord," he said. "It was unknown to me." 

"Nothing should be unknown in the realm of Darkseid." 

"As, as you say, dread lord. Nothing should be unknown." 

"Unless, of course, it is something wished by Darkseid to be unknown." 

"Of course, my lord. As you say, my lord." 

Darkseid said, "You know you are useful to me, Desaad." 

"Oh, yes, dread lord!" Desaad's aspect began to brighten. "As useful as my dread lord allows me to be. Useful and loyal, sire. To a fault, if I might say so." 

"Traits which are admirable," said Darkseid. "And traits which ensure your survival." 

Desaad beamed. 

"In another form," finished Darkseid. 

With that, twin Omega beams stabbed out from his eyes, arrowed to the form of Desaad, and, in an instant, converted him into energy-essence and retracted him within the very essence of Darkseid himself. It had been done once before, when Desaad had confessed to hyping Kalibak's strength in a fight with Orion. Desaad's last visible expression indicated that he knew what he was in for. 

"Why did you do that?" asked Mongul, out of curiosity. 

Darkseid turned to him. "I need him," he said. "And in this form, he's easier to carry." 

The lord of Apokolips returned to his meditative state. It was a terrible thing to have to cause his son's mind so much pain. In a way, he felt more brutal than Desaad. But perhaps the indwelling essence of Desaad would give him strength to finish out the job. 

After all, once the Anti-Life Equation was spoken, no one would need to complain. 

To be concluded...   
  



	33. Part 33:  Siege of Apokolips

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 33 

by DarkMark 

Changeling and Mento had been using their time together to rebond and, with the help of Steve Dayton's cleaning staff, get the place back in shape again. All the dirty plates, TV dinners, spilled pop cans, soiled sheets, and strewn-around books, papers, and other objects were being taken away. 

Questor, Dayton's chief aide, was considerably elated about the change, though he kept his front of dignity. "I must say, sir, all of us on staff are quite pleased to see you past your Howard Hughes period. It is invigorating to have you back." 

Dayton, in white short-sleeved shirt, grey jeans, and slippers, grinned through his beard and clasped Questor's arm. "Don't get too optimistic yet, Ques. I've got another mission in the pipeline. But I intend to come out on the other side just like I am today." 

Questor's face showed the alarm. Gar Logan stood by, waiting for the denouement. "But, sir, what if...what if you don't? What then, sir?" 

"Then," Steve said, soberly, "I want you to have me committed." 

Changeling was at Steve's side immediately. "Don't worry, Dad. We'll take care of you, no matter what happens. I'll make sure of that, and so will the Titans." 

Steve lay an arm across Gar's shoulders. "I know you will, son. What I feel for what you and Raven did for me goes beyond gratitude. And even though she's not here to confirm it, I think we both know Rita would be proud of you." 

Gar fought down a lump in his throat. Rita Farr, his stepmother and Steve's wife, had been Elasti-Girl of the original Doom Patrol. She had died along with the Chief and Negative Man when Madame Rouge and Captain Zahl blew them to bits. Years later, the Titans, Robotman, and Mento had avenged their deaths. It was cold comfort, but closure. "Yeah," was all he could say. 

"We haven't bled an unrecoverable amount of money," said Steve. "Guess the underlings I have were as smart as they were supposed to be. If this thing doesn't turn out right–" 

"Don't say that, Steve." 

"Possibility I have to face, Gar. As I said, if it doesn't go our way, at least it'll be in good hands. Yours, too." 

The green-skinned young man hugged his stepfather around the waist, and Steve reciprocated. "You may not be my real dad," said Gar, in a low voice. "But as far as I'm concerned, you're number two." 

"Best thing I've heard in a long time," said Steve, and, almost against his will, glanced at the Mento helmet on a table nearby. He remembered how the design had frustrated him, until a very young man named Constantine had come to him with a set of schematics. Constantine never said where he'd gotten them. But they worked. 

The last time, they'd worked too well. 

And then, there were other presences in the room. 

Steve, Questor, and Gar immediately sensed it. Gar and Steve knew the sensation. Whenever the Phantom Stranger made an entrance, the temperature seemed to drop about five degrees. 

The man in the hat, cloak, and immaculate dress was there, with a new entourage. The party included a quite dangerous man with white hair and an eyepatch, and he was packing heat and carrying a briefcase. He wasn't in costume, but he didn't have to be. A brown-haired woman was holding his hand, and looking tense. Several others were also with the Stranger, all in costume. That is, except for the one all in metal. 

"Stranger," said the Changeling. "Why in hell did you bring Deathstroke?" 

"Good to see you again too, kid," responded Slade Wilson. "Just think of me as insurance. The missus wanted to come, too." 

The Phantom Stranger said, "I brought him for support, as I have brought Robotman." 

The last living member of the old Doom Patrol stepped towards Gar and Steve and clasped a hand apiece of them. "Great to see ya back, Steve. Great to see ya back. You too, Kid Lettuce-Face." 

"Same for you, rustpot," said Gar, with an offhand grin. "But that doesn't change things about Deathstroke. Sure, we got on okay last time, but, Stranger, don't you know who he is?" 

Slade Wilson stood before the four of them. "He knows, just like the rest of you do. Or should. But I couldn't go with the heroes, and I wouldn't go with the bad guys. Here, at least, I can do some good. Anybody tries to attack you, I'm on 'em. So will the wife, here." 

Gar reflected that he wasn't exaggerating. Adeline Wilson had been a trainer in the U.S. Army and had initially given Slade Wilson his combat training, then refined it to an incredible degree. She was also the mother of Gar's fellow Titan, Jericho. "He killed me once," said Gar. 

"I did. But that was business. I thought we got past all that the last time, kid." 

"You don't ever get past that," Gar said. 

"Any more than I got past what happened to my son, Grant," said Wilson, softly. 

Gar stared at him. Grant Wilson had died, trying to take vengeance on the Titans with powers that simulated his father's own, but which drained his life through overstrain. None of them had forgotten his death. 

The lot of them waited in the silence and tenseness for what Gar would say next. 

"I want to trust him, ma'am," said Gar to Adeline. "I do trust you, though." 

"Logan," said Slade, "I swear to you, I give you my word, that you can trust me in this matter. I'll give it to Dayton here and anybody else you want. I'm not saying I won't kill anybody. All I'm saying is that, if I do, they're going to be on the other side." 

Both of the others with the Stranger seemed to freeze at Slade Wilson's words. But Steve Dayton said, "If he's good enough for Gar, he's good enough for me. How's about it, son?" 

Changeling looked at Slade Wilson, and reflected on how, in their last encounter, he had steadfastly refused to take advantage of an opportunity to kill Gar. Even if they were in a death-duel Gar had picked, resultant from the death of Terra, the traitor Titan. "All right," he said. "I sure as hell hope I'm not being stupid." 

"Thanks, son," said Slade. "Let me get my working clothes on, and I'll be back." 

"I'll add my thanks, too, Mr. Logan," said Mrs. Wilson. "And I think I'll feel more comfortable in cammo gear than this dress, for this outing. I'll be back in a minute, too." 

As the two left the room, Gar said, "Make with the introductions for these other guys, Stranger. I've never met them." 

The Stranger put a hand on the shoulder of the kid with the helmet. "This is Lucian Crawley. He has telepathic powers of his own, and will be part of our team in this matter." He went to the other he had brought with him, a black-haired man in green with a white streak in his hair. "This is Prince Ra-Man, also known as the Mind Master. He will also be part of our team. Steve Dayton will be the spearhead of our effort. In this, we must not fail. Nor will we, if our parts are correctly played." 

"So let me know what the effort will be," said Steve, evenly. 

"We must reclaim the mind of Orion from the mind of Darkseid," said the Stranger, "before he can yield up the Anti-Life Equation." 

Gar's hand tightened on Steve's arm as Dayton said, "So. Another seance." 

"No," said the Stranger. "Not like Constantine. The three of you will link minds, and we will be here to support you. This will be no seance. It will be a campaign." 

After a pause, Steve Dayton spoke. 

"Let's get started." 

-S- 

In the space just beyond the ring of shadow-demons, the Green Lantern corps blasted away with their rings, trying to penetrate through to Apokolips. 

Not enough success, Haljor Dan,> reported Eddore, the bloblike Green Lantern. Thousands of these entities. We dissipate one, it reforms. And we have not yet broken through enough levels to reach objective.> 

Acknowledged, Eddore,> replied Hal, telepathically. Keep plugging.> He glanced at Star Sapphire, who was using her own energy-powers to aid and abet the Lanterns' effort, but with the same lack of results. He racked his brain for specialists among the Corpsmen, those whose abilities went beyond just wielding a ring. Finally, he hit on one candidate. Then he sent another message. 

Sodam Yat. Got a job for you.> 

The Green Lantern of Daxam returned his sending. Acknowledged and waiting.> 

Keep in hold until I place a message,> said the first Green Lantern of Earth-One. Then, on another mental wavelength, he dared something he would not have thought of when he became a Lantern, all those years ago. 

Guardians of the Universe. Hal Jordan of Sector 2814 calling. Your help...is required.> 

For a long moment, Hal wondered if he would receive back a response. And then: 

We are here, Hal Jordan. How may the Guardians help?> 

In his sheath of green, he breathed a sigh of relief. Then he opened a corresponding link with Sodam Yat, and said, Stand by.> To both of them, he sent, We haven't been able to penetrate Apokolips's sheath of shadow-demons. There's a layer of Kryptonite radiation below that. I don't doubt but what Darkseid will be smart enough to have something yellow waiting for us, if we do get through. 

But if Sodam Yat can get through, he can use his Daxamite powers to knock out enough defenses to gain us access. The heroes of the Earths will be arriving soon. We need to open the way for them. If we can get him through it, he can do it. 

What I propose is this. If the Guardians be willing, great sirs, you can provide a direct link between the Central Power Battery and ourselves. You transmit it to the Corps, we'll transmit it to Sodam Yat. With that kind of power, he should be able to get through the shadow-demons without problem. Once below that layer, it's up to him. That is, if you're willing, Sodam.> 

The Daxamite answered, If I was not, Hal Jordan, I would not be a Green Lantern.> 

The Guardian responded, after another moment. What you propose is unprecedented. The outpouring of so much power into one man's ring, even that of Sodam Yat, chances an overload that could erase him from existence. And much besides him.> 

Hal waited. 

But your suggestion has merit. And we are in the last stages of the multiversal crisis. Therefore, it is decreed: we will cooperate.> 

Saying a silent prayer of thanks, Hal Jordan said, Thank you, great sirs. Thank you very much. Sodam Yat, are you still willing?> 

Unto death, and beyond, Hal Jordan,> said the big man from Daxam. 

Let's get with it,> said Hal. He opened a channel to the rest of the Corps. Corpsmen, Hal Jordan here,> he sent. Change of plans. This is what we have to do.> 

-S- 

Supergirl stood by as Dr. Fate, Green Lantern of Earth-2, and Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt created the conveyances that would take the heroes to Apokolips. They amounted to four large spacecraft whose only propulsion would be magic itself. 

"I don't know that this is the greatest idea," she said. "Everyone's so darned tired already from the fighting here." 

Power Girl, beside her, said, "True enough, K. But we don't have much choice." 

"No, I suppose not." She sighed, sat down on the pavement, and crossed her legs. "Fight, fight, fight. There doesn't seem to be much else in our lives, does it, Kara?" 

The Earth-Two Kryptonian shrugged. "When you have the powers, it seems to be a given that you have to use them. If we don't, a lot of evil things can triumph." 

"Maybe that's so, but I want to opt out. There are a lot of super-heroes on my Earth. They can cover any slack I might create." 

"Are you sure?" Power Girl sat beside her. "We don't have very long to talk." 

Supergirl looked at her thoughtfully. "I'm never sure about anything. But I know how I feel. I want to be a real woman, not a, a super-heroine." 

"There isn't anything about being Supergirl you like?" Power Girl tented her gloved fingers together. "I can't believe that, K." 

"Oh, Sheol, yes, there is. I like having the powers. I like the strength and speed and being able to fly and see across whole star lengths. It's just that I don't like the purposes I have to put them to. I can't save the world every month. But that seems like all I've been doing so far." 

"Well, Kara," said Power Girl, "how much attention have you given to being a real woman?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"Seems to me about the only thing you've done, from what you've told me, is move from job to job to job. You never make many plans for your future, you don't stick with anything more than a couple of years. If you want to be a 'real woman', as you put it, why don't you put more effort into being one? Instead of walking away any time a challenge comes?" 

Supergirl stared at her. 

"Sorry if I spoke out of turn, K, but that's sure what it looks like from here," said Power Girl. 

"No, that's all right," said Kara. "Maybe...maybe you have a point. Rao, I've always thought of myself as Kara Zor-El, and I am. Supergirl's the closest to that, but she's still an identity I put on. Linda Danvers is the hardest thing for me to do. I've always had Supergirl to fall back on." She paused. "Maybe that's why I was able to run so often. Maybe that's why I haven't bothered." 

"Maybe," said Power Girl. 

Supergirl smiled and took her counterpart's hand. "I wish we could get together more often. From the first time I met you, I thought it was like finding I had a sister." 

"Me, too," Power Girl replied, squeezing her hand. "I'm not on your wavelength all the way, but we have enough in common." 

"That's just the way I'd want it," said Kara. "I wouldn't want a clone of myself. I appreciate having somebody like you around." 

"Somebody who could probably beat you at arm-wrestling." Power Girl grinned. 

"Like to see you try." 

"Maybe once we're finished," said Power Girl. "But there's one thing I really do envy you." 

"What's that?" said Kara, feeling as though she already knew the answer. 

"Parents," Power Girl said. "You've still got yours. Mine are dead." She looked sad. "In this universe, there are a whole bunch of Kryptonian survivors. In mine, there's only four. And three of them are villains." 

Supergirl embraced her sister-self. "I'm sorry, Kara," she said. "Anytime you want, you come over here and we'll be your friends. When Rokyn is in phase again, we'll take you there. I promise." 

"If we live through this thing, I'll take you up on it." 

"Yeah," said Kara. "If." 

Power Girl looked at her slyly. "You wouldn't consider sharing Dev, would you?" 

"Fixing to pull your peroxide hair out." 

"Just joking, K." Power Girl fired a mock punch at Kara's jaw. "Just joking." 

Dev-Em and Superman's shadows fell over them. "You ladies ready to go?" asked Dev. 

"We are ready to leave," confirmed Superman. He noticed Power Girl looking at him, with eyes that almost seemed ready to tear, but not quite. 

"Excuse me," she said. "Would it be all right if I just touched you?" 

"Just...touched me?" 

"Yes," said Kara Zor-L. "Nothing...more than a touch." 

Superman shrugged, briefly. "If you want." 

Supergirl watched intently as Power Girl stood and, tentatively, put out her blue-gloved hand and ran it over Kal's features. She seemed to breathe with a bit more ease after she had done so. "Thank you," she said. 

Kal held her wrist, gently and with some affection. "Kara. I'm sorry. I miss him, too." 

She nodded. "That's all right. Seeing you here, even though you're younger...sometimes it's like seeing a ghost." 

Dev said, "Have a nice long look around, Power Girlie. A lot more of us might wind up ghosts before we get back." 

Supergirl looked at him with some coldness, then took his hand. "Come on," she said. "Let's get on board." 

-S- 

"It begins," said Madame Xanadu, dealing her deck of Tarot cards. 

"Without us," said John Constantine, scratching his ear and puffing on a Silk Cut. Tim Hunter coughed. 

Dr. Occult leaned back in his chair. "Would you rather have signed up to go with them, John?" 

"You know better than that," Constantine said, a trifle surly in tone. "I'm no world-beater. Just hope Swamp can do some good." 

"And the Stranger," said Baron Winters. "But one thing is certain. We won't have long to wait." 

Tim leaned over the table. "Do those cards tell you anything, Miss Xanadu?" 

She looked back at him. "Yes, Tim. They tell me too much. And not enough." She pulled another deck, a Bicycle brand, from her purse. "How's about some gin rummy?" 

"Sure." Tim smiled. "Can John and the rest sit in?" 

"But of course," she said, dealing out the cards on an untouched part of the table. "There's something charming about facing the end of the world with five-handed gin." 

-S- 

On New Genesis, the war machine was prepared, and waiting. All that remained was the go-ahead from Izaya, and the Boom Tubes would be activated to send them to Apokolips. 

In what passed for a War Room in his palace, Izaya sat with his advisors and Tigra and received word from Metron by a Mother Box transmission. One of the advisors watched his liege with his head pressed to the small Box and finally said, "What word, my liege?" 

Highfather looked at him. "Not yet. The Lanterns are seeking a means of penetration. Metron says they are trying a new tactic. They hope it will work." 

"Dear Source," muttered Tigra, sitting next to him and trying to rein in her emotions. 

"With all due respect, great sir, our time is limited," said another. "True, a two-pincer attack with our forces and the Lanterns would be desirable. But if they cannot get through, and we can..." 

"Then the conflict would be of needs much bloodier, and more men of New Genesis will be killed than if our attack is combined," retorted Izaya, showing his wrath. "Nonetheless, if their penetration is not made within the hour, we will start the attack. Elom, do you think that I know nothing of war? By the Source, I know all too much of it! I was general before I became Highfather, and if I be general again, my orders will be obeyed!" 

Elom was taken aback. "Forgive me, Highfather. I meant no disrespect." 

"No, you meant nothing more than to prod me into action," he said. "As if the mind of my son, the fate of my daughter, and the liberty of the Multiverse were not goad enough. Rest easy, Elom. I am not Darkseid. You are safe enough." 

They seemed to breathe easier. Tigra said, "Milord, I crave a boon." 

Izaya looked at her gently. "If it be within my power to grant, and my will, Tigra. Say on." 

"If our forces fail, if my son's mind be lost to his body, and if Darkseid prevail, then kill me. I wish not to live with those options, in that world." 

Izaya said nothing. Mercifully, the Mother Box began pinging again. He placed it at the side of his head. 

In a few seconds, Highfather said, "The warrior is dispatched. The operation has begun." 

-S- 

In his chambers, Darkseid sat, and meditated. Actually, what he did was more than meditation. 

What he was really doing was delving into his own mind and breaking down the mind of Orion. 

You resist, my son,> he thought. I would expect no less.> 

Death and damnation to you, father.> 

Not yet for either of them, my son.> Darkseid sent a drill of mental effort into what remained of his son's mind. There was screaming even Orion's stoicism couldn't repress. He was closing in on his objective. 

Another voice. Finish it, great lord. Finish it, and reintegrate me. I will continue to serve you, all the more loyally.> 

Desaad, BE SILENT.> He punctuated it with a burst of fury that sent the sadist supreme howling back to the corner of Darkseid's mind reserved to him. That finished, Darkseid bent to his task again. 

Drilling, hammering, piercing, tearing apart the layers of Orion's mind. Each layer was tough, and they seemed as numerous as the skins of an onion, as the leaves of an artichoke. It took great effort. While he was thus engaged, he would be unable to direct the war effort, should Izaya find entry. 

He almost laughed. It was a certainty that Izaya would find entry. He always did. 

But the realm was well defended. It would cost Izaya's forces as never before. And all he had to do was fend them off another few hours. Then the speaking of a simple equation...it had to be simple, there was nothing else it could be...and the entire effort would be completed. 

Darkseid tried to imagine how it would be. The simple mental command to his foes to stand down. The immobilization of the heroes of the Earths, of the forces of New Genesis. The destruction of those whom he deemed too dangerous, or to whom he owed much vengeance, by their own hands. The enslavement of those who remained. 

Then he could get down to the business at hand. The business of creating a truly efficient Multiverse. Without war. Without poverty. Without unnecessary death. Without independent will, that curse of humanity and Celestial alike. 

All it needed was a firm hand at the tiller, and none was firmer than his. But, of course, the Equation had to be dredged up. 

So Darkseid bent to his task, disregarded his son's mental screams, promised Desaad as much and more if he interfered, and waited for the New Genesites to arrive. 

He swore it would cost them. But for the moment, he was busy. 

-S- 

Aboard one of the great ships, Supergirl and all present had heard a stirring battle address by Uncle Sam transmitted to them all. It should have meant something to her, but it didn't. All she knew was that her stomach hurt from tension, her palm was wet with sweat in Dev's hand, and she was praying to Rao to bring them through and to ensure that they never had to do something like this again. 

The great craft were moving through the warp-space between dimensions. She'd been there before, while hopping through shortcuts in space and on the infrequent occasions in which she'd gone to another Earth. The visible patterns of energy and force, the hints of existences on planes her perception could only register in part, all went by her like so many unnoticed billboards on a highway. 

"You'll come back to my century when this is through," said Dev, in a low voice. 

"I'll have a lot of my life to put back together after this," Kara answered. "But on the weekend, I will." 

"I want you to stay there with me." 

"I can't." 

"You can." 

"No, Dev." She looked at him. "I love you, but I haven't made enough of a life for myself. I'm going to do that in my time, and see you in yours." 

"Kara, Sheol. You can build a life for yourself in my time, too. Want a secret identity? We'll set you one up. We'll even see about getting you a job. A better one than what you've got here. And we can...well..." 

She breathed. "Get married?" 

"I don't know. I don't know right yet. But maybe." 

She shook her head. "No, Dev, not right now. I love my parents and Kal too much just to leave them flat. Maybe someday. But right now...frab it, we don't even know if there's going to be a tomorrow, unless we get through today." 

"Isn't that the way it always is?" 

"Yeah. But most especially now." 

Dev nodded. True, there'd always be a timeline in which the Legion existed in the 30th Century. But his presence here probably changed things. Unless they succeeded, the timeline in which they lived would be one dominated by Darkseid, and possibly his descendants, forevermore. Paradoxes would arise that he didn't want to think about. It was as bad as when they had to make sure Superboy lived through every Legion case, so that he could go back and become Superman. 

But there was nothing else to do about it. 

She looked about her at the vast number of heroes stuffed more or less comfortably into the seats of their space-ark. Not far away was Infinity, Inc., and a group she had never met before, Helix. The latter had been both the enemies and the friends of the Infinitors, and a skull-faced one of them was having a conversation in rhyme with the Demon. Nearby sat two women and a man, one girl a blonde in a red and yellow outfit who called herself Joanie Quick and claimed to be the granddaughter of a World War II hero. Another was a tough-looking youth in a black T-shirt and jeans, who only gave his name as Matt Munro. The third was an Asian girl in a helmet, halter, and pants, identified as Natalia Perkins. She had never met any of them. They said they were part of the Justice Alliance, whatever that was. 

Superman was riding in another one of the arks. They didn't want all the Kryptonians in one vessel. As long as she had Dev there, it wasn't so bad. 

"I'm going to find D'reema," she said. 

"What?" 

"I'm going to find D'reema, get her away from Darkseid, and rescue her," said Kara. "It was our responsibility to keep her safe. We failed. I'm going to get her back." 

"If we can," said Dev. 

"We've got to. I've got to. We can fight off all the para-demons in the world, Dev, but if we don't save that one girl, all is lost." 

"You've got a point, love," he said. "But it isn't like she won't be defended. Charge in there like a bull in a skirt, and you'll probably trip every booby trap Old Rockface ever devised." 

"Doesn't matter. I fell down on the job. I'm not going to do it again." 

"All right. If I can, I'll help. If I can't...you just be careful. Very careful. One of us comes out of this alive, I want it to be you." 

"Oh, Dev, shut up. I want us both to come through this. And Kal, and young Kal, and Power Girl, and all the rest." She put her head against his shoulder. "I am just so damned tired of this. I want it to end." 

"We've established that. One last thing I want to tell you before we breach ether." 

"Uh huh?" 

"I love you, Kara. I know you know it, I know I know it. But I just wanted you to know it again." 

"I always did, Dev. And I love you too." 

He chucked her under the chin. "Too bad they don't have any private rooms on board this bus." 

She smiled, a bit. "Save it till we're back home." 

"You owe me one, then." 

"I'll owe you a lot more than one," she said. "And I pay my debts. In full." 

"Counting on it." 

The voice of Dr. Fate was heard in all of the arks. "Reentering normal space in five minutes," he said. "Prepare yourselves." 

-S- 

The sensation was nothing like Sodam Yat had ever experienced. 

When the entire Corps had fed him green energy through a power-line to his ring, it was beyond even the sum they could have generated. It felt as though he was tapping the power at the center of a galaxy, that which held billions of stars in a turning spiral. No Lantern had ever drawn on that much power, and perhaps none ever would again. 

But, once he was beyond this sea of night, it might avail him nothing. He would have to rely on the power of a Daxamite, the strength, the speed, the invulnerability that were his heritage underneath a sun that was not red. 

Right now, it took almost all of his green power to insulate him from the touch of the shadow-beings through whom he moved. Unshielded, even he would be frozen by their contact. He gave thanks to his God that his sheath remained unbreached. 

He could feel their hatred. He could feel their desire to freeze, to kill. He shrugged it off. Green Lanterns were chosen for their immunity from fear. They could be concerned, yes, but their sensibilities leaned towards cold and accurate assessments of a situation. He'd need that all in his present operation. 

The power from the Central Battery propelled him like a cannon shell. Despite all the resistance from the shadows, he was through their final layer in a matter of minutes. That which lay below was a gleaming layer of green. The miles-thick later of Kryptonite radiation, deadly to Superman and Supergirl. Even a Daxamite knew of them. 

With his ring, he tracked the layer of satellites broadcasting the deadly green and shattered them. In fact, they fell so quickly he had to cut off his beam with great abruptness. It threatened to get out of his control. 

K-satellites neutralized,> he sent to Hal Jordan. The greenness began to fade away. 

Abruptly, his eyes were assaulted by a blast of yellow. 

There was no way to use any of the great energy his ring commanded, now. No way even to get word back to the Lanterns of his progress. If they hit him with lead, which they undoubtedly would, he would have to trust in his ring's latent power to preserve his own life. 

From here on in, he must rely on the power of a Daxamite. 

Warships of Apokolips approached him, blasted him. Their rays and projectiles glanced off his green-and-black-clad body without effect. He didn't even favor them with a sneer. Sodam Yat trained his super-vision over the pitted surface of New Genesis and found his immediate objective: the broadcast stations that was producing the source of the yellow aura. There was no less than five of them, with other relay stations should they fall. 

He wasn't as used to operating with his natural super-powers as without them, but he did know how to use them. 

Sodam Yat accelerated his flight to several times that of light and smashed into all of the stations, tearing apart their connections to the relays as he did so. As a result, only three relays had to be destroyed. And as he stood in the wreckage of the last, among the unconscious bodies of the attendants on duty, his ring sprang to life in a verdant arc of green. 

There was a booming noise behind him. He turned, just in time to be attacked by a huge, yellow skinned being who grasped him about the neck and began to squeeze. 

"Thank you," said Mongul, sincerely, purpling the Lantern's face. "It's about time I had someone to kill." 

The man from Daxam pointed his fist at the tyrant's chest. 

An instant later, Mongul's hands were forcibly torn away from Sodam Yat's throat, his body was sent smashing through what remained of the ceiling, and, screaming until he could be heard no more, he was propelled through the atmosphere and deep into the ring of shadow-demons. Within seconds, he was frozen into suspended animation. 

Sodam Yat gasped, felt his neck bruises, and sent a message to the Corpsmen. Phase One successful,> he said. Beginning Phase Two.> 

With that, he concentrated his will, pointed his ring hand upward, and let fly. 

The great green energy of the Guardians' making contacted the inside of the layer of shadow-demons, spread until it formed a layer of its own underneath them, and began to push. 

Behind it, the Lantern Corpsmen focused their wills, adding their mental power to that of Sodam Yat, and strained. The layer of shadows was resisting. 

Blazes, Hal,> sent John Stewart. It's...just like...the climax of Children of the Lens, by Doc Smith. Lantern's Load!> 

Whatever,> grated Hal Jordan, and kept willing. 

The shadow-demons, those deadliest of the Anti-Monitor's warriors, screeched silently with their effort. They had been set in place by the order of their lord Darkseid, and they had no will other than his in this situation. The perimeter must be maintained. The defense against the interlopers must be sustained. They must remain as one, intertwined, cold, and deadly, despite this intrusion of an Arkymandrite in their midst. 

But, slowly, they began to expand outward. 

Get back,> warned Hal. They're fixing to blow.> 

The Corpsmen drew on what power that was funneled through them to draw back and shield themselves a bit more. But almost all of the green power broadcast from the Great Battery through the Guardians' bodies was pouring straight into Sodam Yat's ring. The incalculable might of the emerald energy, linked to the will of the sweating Daxamite, was forced up further and further, harder and harder, lifting the wall of shadow-beings as if air was being pumped into a balloon. 

A crack of green appeared in the wall of black. Arisia was first to see it. Katma,> she called. 

I see it, little one,> telepathed Katma Tui. Stand fast, and be ready.> 

More cracks of emerald, more fault lines among the shadows, began to spread and appear. Desperately, the shadow-demons sought to reach across, sought to bridge the gap, but they only thinned themselves past viability. They still struggled, still resisted. But the warrior from Daxam continued his assault. 

Star Sapphire appeared beside Hal and entwined her arm with his. I'm glad to be here with you now,> she sent. But I'm always glad to be with you.> 

Acknowledged and returned, Carol,> he sent. Get ready to reinforce shields. I think...it's about to...> 

The shadow-demons exploded into space. 

They boiled past the Lanterns in a cloud of angry darkness, visible even in the void of space. A cheer went up from the Corpsmen, even as they shielded themselves. The breach had been made. But the task had not yet been finished. 

Below, Sodam Yat simply sent, Phase Three,> and began. 

The great globe of green force that now covered Apokolips was reshaped, leaving the planet's atmosphere, turning itself inside out, and drawing the shadows within its maw with irresistable power. It sucked them in, formed a much smaller globe of containment, and then, when the final shadow was within, sealed itself. 

Then it hurled itself outward, on a trip beyond Apokolips's solar system, into the void as quickly as the green power could send it. 

Hal and his Corpsmen made a quick scan, found nothing more threatening in the area than a quick-frozen Mongul, and made the decision. 

Sodam Yat, power down,> sent Hal. 

Acknowledged,> sent Sodam Yat. 

With that, he willed a reverse in the flow of power from his ring. This would be risky business, to be sure. The power had to return to the Central Battery, and then be sent back to himself and the Corpsmen in the correct portions. The blonde Daxamite thought wistfully of what he was abandoning, and disregarded it. One ring's power was enough for a true Lantern. 

For thirty seconds, they would be powered down, except for life-support functions. He sensed his own ring shutting down, and held up his hand. 

As he did so, he noticed two Apokolips guards coming through a break in the wall with yellow-colored uniforms and blasters. "Stand, invader," said one of them. "You are under arrest by the supreme authority of the Great Lord Darkseid." 

"In hell," snapped Yat, and polished both of them off with a single blow. 

He had to admit, even as the power returned to his ring, that some things were more satisfying to do by oneself. 

A second later, he heard the broadcast from Hal Jordan to the Corps, himself, and all its allies. 

Highfather, Fate, Phase Three has been completed. Engage your forces. We're going in.> 

-S- 

Kalibak swore at the report he'd gotten back. He drew back his great warclub, looked at the cowering messenger, and then lowered it. "Get out of here," he said. 

"Oh, great Kalibak, let not my lord be troubled, but what message should I give the generals?" 

"Tell them we're at war," he said. "And that I'll be down in a moment." 

The man scurried out of Kalibak's chamber. 

Sighing, Kalibak trudged towards his father's chamber, and wondered if he would leave in the same configuration that he entered. 

The doorplate responded to his fingerprints and body temperature, an eye-scanner took note of his retinal patterns, and an aura measurement machine matched him to a file on Kalibak. Even so, he had to punch in a code to enter. If he had not gotten the input correct, a number of defensive devices would have killed him on the spot. 

The door swung open onto darkness. 

Kalibak suppressed the impulse to gasp. Despite his father's name, he had usually worked in fairly well-lit surroundings. To know that he was unseen within this zone of lightlessness indicated that Darkseid was deeply into a meditative state, in the final stages of his mental battle with Orion. Even with the door open, Kalibak could barely pick out the shadowed form of his father. 

"Close the door." 

"Father, I must know—" 

"Close the DOOR." 

Kalibak quickly shut the door behind him. The locks and bars fell into place, and the room was in total darkness again. Despite himself, he shivered. 

The voice came from the darkness again. "Why have you come here?" 

Moistening his lips, Kalibak spoke. "Because, my father, we are under attack. The Green Lanterns have breached our defenses. The New Genesites and the scum of the five Earths will be upon us in minutes. I seek advice, Great Lord. I wish to know—" 

"You must hold them off for a short time. Until I have extracted the secret from Orion." 

"Yes, Great Lord, that much I understand. But our resources are depleted. The Secret Society—" 

"The Secret Society has undoubtedly been beaten. Or the heroes would not be here. I will activate the Reserves. They will deal with the men of Earth. Our armies will deal with Highfather's forces. You will command them." 

"Father, I am, I am a warrior, not a general." 

"Then you will learn. Go, and do your duty. Do not fail. And if you disturb me again, you will share space with Desaad." 

A sliver of whiteness grew as the door swung open again. Kalibak rushed through it as fast as he could. The door closed behind him. He had no doubt that even he would be unable to enter it again. 

Kalibak went to the war room and beheld Apokolips's generals, clustered about a long table, monitors of the planet and the orbital space about it on the walls. 

"Hail Darkseid," said Magritt, one of the higher-ranking officials. "We await your orders, Kalibak." 

"Deploy our forces," said Kalibak. "They are to attack the New Genesis armies. The Reserves will battle the Terrans. These orders are from the Great Lord himself. As for tactics, do as you see fit." 

It was as good as he could do, and he had done it. Kalibak left the chamber and headed out. He shifted his grip on the warclub. There were bound to be battlefields on which he could smash heads and splatter brains. 

That was what he did well, and that was what he intended to do. A lot. 

-S- 

Highfather had left the council chamber several minutes ago and had not been seen since then. The Forever People and the heroes who accompanied them were assembled in the courtyard. The armies of New Genesis, in their various stations, were awaiting word from their commander. To say that all were at full alert would have been an understatement. 

Then Mark Moonrider and company beheld Izaya emerging from the palace. Izaya, rather than Highfather. The gathered heroes saw the New Genesis monarch in full battle armor, with only his face uncovered by a lifted visor. The sole remnant of his Highfather identity was the staff which he held in one hand. Moonrider, Big Bear, Serifan, and Vykin were immediately impressed by the gravity of the situation. Izaya had divested himself, for the moment, of the last of his pacifism. Now, he was again truly a warrior. 

From his hand, Izaya released a Mother Box. It hung before him as he spoke, and transmitted his words to the military forces about the globe. 

"Today, we go forth to finish the conflict between ourselves and Apokolips forever," he said. "Today, we enter into the final battle between our light and their darkness, between good and evil. Today, we will prevail, or see our universe, and many others besides, subject to the iron will of Darkseid. Today, in conjunction with the warriors of the Earths, we will see victory. This is New Genesis's defining hour. Our golden moment. Until battle is done, I am not Highfather but Izaya. And as Izaya, I issue my command: deploy Boom Tubes. The invasion of Apokolips begins now." 

So saying, Highfather gestured with his staff. A thundering sound was heard, and an energy-circle bigger than any that those present had ever seen opened. 

Zatanna looked upon it with nervousness. Superboy saw it and clutched her hand. "I'm scared, too, Zee," he said. 

She favored him with a slight smile. "It's all right, Kal. You don't have to hold my hand." 

He released it. "I'm proud to have fought by your side, Zee. I'm honored to have met you and the others." 

"Enough talk," said Lady Quark, grimly. "There'll be enough time for that afterward. Let us be gone." 

So saying, she lifted off from the courtyard grounds and flew directly into the mouth of the Boom Tube. Superboy, Zatanna, Pariah, and the rest followed. The four Forever People, Bug, Jezebelle, Lightray, and several others came afterward. Mr. Miracle, Barda, and Oberon stood beside Izaya for a long moment. 

"Go with the Source, my son," said Izaya, clapping him on the shoulder. 

"Thank you, father," said Scott. "I'll go with Himon's spirit, as well." So saying, he activated a new set of flying discs on his feet and shot through the opening, Barda close behind him. 

Oberon looked after them. "I may never see them again," he said. 

"The way of the warrior, my friend," said Izaya, gently. "Now I must leave as well. Remember us all. Especially those who will not return." 

With that, Izaya activated his staff again. He levitated from the ground, flew forward into the end of the Boom Tube, and was gone. With another clap of thunder, the open end of the Tube collapsed and faded from sight. 

"Holy geez," muttered Oberon. After a moment, he turned and went back inside the palace. 

He had a feeling it was going to be quite lonely for a long while. 

-S- 

Supergirl and the others in the arks knew that they had arrived in Apokolips space as soon as their craft took an impact from an orbital war-vessel. The hits darned near shattered the hulls, and the magicians among them had to quickly strengthen their ships. 

She stood up. "Let Dev and me out," she said. "Cap and Mary and Junior as well. We need to engage." 

Dev looked grim, and was silent, but was prepared. Alan Scott, the Green Lantern of Earth-2, was in charge of their vessel. "All right, Supergirl," he said. "It's up to you, but we can use the help. I'll let you pass through the outer wall." He raised his ring hand and bathed both of them in its beam. 

Power Girl also stood up. "Do me, too, GL. I'm not going to let them and Superman carry the load alone." 

Alan obliged her. "Go take those warcraft. But all of you...be careful. They're bound to be prepared." 

"In spades," said the Flash of Earth-One. 

"Keep calm, Wally," advised the Earth-Two Flash, beside him. 

Supergirl, Dev, and Power Girl stepped out of their seats, flew above the heads of their fellow heroes, and found the hull before them passing them through like water through cheesecloth. They emerged into the coldness and void of space, their lungs automatically shutting down in the vacuum. Kara and Dev were still wearing telepathic plugs, but Power Girl had none. Supergirl hoped the other Kara was good at reading sign language. 

The lead warcraft blasted Kryptonite radiation at them. But all of them were swift enough to avoid it, circling around the blast in spirals. Kara noted the presence of Superman, and was glad he stood (or flew) beside them now. She put on a burst of speed and was the first one to smash through the hull of the lead ship. There were an astonished bunch of Apokoliptics within, armed to the teeth. She put them out of their misery with a fleet bunch of raps to their chins, all within ten seconds. Supergirl was used to working fast. 

A telepathic message came through from Kal. Smash their propulsion unit, but not their life-support,> he said. 

I know, Kal,> she sent. And then, to herself, went, Sheol, whattya think I am, dumb? 

I heard that,> he sent back. 

She plowed through metal walls until she came to the engine room, which she thoroughly disabled with super-strength and heat vision. Sometimes, she reflected with a smile, it was nice to have enough power to do things like this. 

A moment afterward, she smashed through the hull of the ship, taking care to seal it behind her so that not much air would escape in the interim. After all, her objective was to make sure as little life was lost as possible in this conflict. How much that would be, she didn't want to consider. In the near distance she saw other Apokolips warships being immobilized by her three fellow Krypts. In short order, three other flying figures joined them, wrecking other flying ships...Captain Marvel, Mary, and Junior. Where the Three Liutenant Marvels were, she had no idea. 

She glanced down and saw the space-arks already in Apokolips's atmosphere, heading quickly for landings. When they finally made ground, she hoped she and her allies would be there to help them. 

In the meantime, she thought as she flew towards an oncoming warship, they still had a job to do. 

-S- 

The Phantom Stranger had been silent, looking at the ceiling, as Steve Dayton donned his Mento helmet and blue and gold costume. Gar Logan guessed that he might have been praying, but he knew well enough not to ask that. 

From outside, the lot of them heard two shots, from different calibers of weaponry. They jerked, as people will at the sound of bullets being fired. 

"Sounds like Wilson's found himself some work," said Robotman. 

"Just so long as he keeps it out there," said Changeling, trying not to show his nervousness. 

"Gar," said Mento, sitting at the round table in his study. "Take my hand." 

The green-hued boy in red and white complied. "Cliff, I know you're on guard duty," said Mento to Robotman. "But as a brother in arms, I'd like to know that I'm spiritually with you as well." 

"Likewise, brother," said Cliff Steele, clasping Steve's free hand in his metal one for a shake. "You do this thing, and you come through it okay. We'll be here for you all the way." 

"If I might be permitted to speak," said Ra-Man, "we had best get started." 

Mind-Grabber Kid fidgeted in his seat. "I'm not so sure I want to. But I don't think we've got much choice, from where I'm sitting." 

"Indeed," said the Stranger, and that ended all conversation. He placed his gloved hands upon Dayton's shoulders. To Mento, they seemed confortingly warm and real. "Steve Dayton, do you do this thing of your own free will?" 

"Yes," he said. 

"I have prayed for you, Steve Dayton." 

"Thank you." 

"Now. Activate your helmet, and let me show you where you should go. In this, you are not the passive observer of John Constantine's seance. You are a warrior. We are your support troops. We now begin." 

Gar Logan looked at his stepfather and saw his eyes focus on something far beyond the back wall he was facing. He was glad he couldn't see what Mento did, at the moment. 

"Link up," said the Stranger to Ra-Man and Lucian Crawley. The two of them concentrated their abilities and did so, Lucian a bit reluctantly. 

Within seconds, they had contacted the mind of Darkseid. 

-S- 

Kalibak looked on the field of battle outside Darkseid's palace, as he and the Army of Apokolips heard the Boom Tubes opening not far away. To the troops, he said, "You have one choice, gentlemen. Kill them, or get killed by me. And don't you doubt that I'll do it." 

"Hail Darkseid," said one soldier, nervously. 

As the New Genesis warriors emerged, Darkseid's son gestured with his club. "At them. Blood for Darkseid, warriors! Blood for Kalibak! GO!" 

Brandishing blasters, long weapons of untold destruction, handbombs, and various other deadly accoutrements, the men of Apokolips went. 

The New Genesites met them running, all of them united in a single war cry: 

"IZAYA." 

The first blasts were fired. The first men fell. 

The Black Racer would have much work this day. 

-S- 

The magical arks landed on the roofs of buildings and industrial plants in the city adjoining Darkseid's palace, because there was little open space to land elsewhere. Apokolips was overindustrialized to the hilt, and they didn't really need large spaces on which to land, anyway.   
The tops dissolved, and the heroes of five worlds came streaming out. Even on that world, it was something to make the civilian inhabitants gape, turn tail, and run for cover. 

It was the first time all the heroes of Earths One, Two, Four, S, and X had worked together, and all present well knew that it probably would be the last. Justice League, Justice Society, Justice Alliance, Justice Force, the Squadron of Justice, Infinity, Inc., the New Titans, Team Metropolis, the Magic Squad, the Losers' League, the Doom Patrol, the Challengers of the Unknown, the Forgotten Heroes, the Freedom Fighters, the Global Guardians, the Lieutenant Marvels, the Bat-Squad, the Metal Men, and a horde of independent heroes. There was no time for much discussion of tactics, beyond that which they'd had on the trip. The team heroes joined with their fellows and deployed. The independents scattered, or joined with some of the team units. 

They were a fighting force the likes of which had never been seen before in existence. 

From the skies, there came another force, well-coordinated and primed for battle. The Green Lantern Corps converged on Apokolips, ready to bring the battle to Darkseid. 

It even looked like they might have a chance, until they heard a series of booms. 

Abruptly, a glowing collection of circles disgorged what Darkseid called the Reserves. From them flowed a stream of Weaponers from Qward, bearing their deadly artificial thunderbolts. Alongside them were a horde of villains from the Earths, those who had been held back from Mantis's army, in case his effort failed (which, Darkseid estimated, was a distinct possibility). 

The heroes grimly took the new arrangement into account, and attacked. They were attacked, in turn. 

Apokolips wasn't going to be a cakewalk. 

-S- 

And in his chamber, Darkseid felt a pressure that made him sit bolt upright. 

What was this? Another presence from outside? One working against him? As if... 

...someone were trying to extract Orion's mind from his brain? 

"This shall not be," he said aloud, without raising his voice. Darkseid hardly ever raised his voice. He had very little need to. 

Yet, he could not escape the feeling of a pull in his mind. Yes, it was there. Someone was trying to lift Orion's mind-patterns from him with the equivalent of a tractor beam. His own mind was powerful, to be sure. But this force seemed to be daunting, in itself. 

He was being opposed, by a worthy opponent. Just when he was on the verge of breaking through, of finally extracting the Equation. 

Just when he didn't need the conflict, it was there. 

Defeat them, Great Lord,> came the voice of Desaad in his mind. 

Darkseid's first impulse was to devastate him, but he held it back. What can you perceive of our attacker, Desaad?> 

Not very much, in truth, Great Lord's pardon. Only an outside force, resisting my Great Lord's exercises on Orion's mind. It must be resisted, pardon my assertiveness in suggestion.> 

Be silent, Desaad, unless you gain more information than that,> Darkseid answered. Then he sent a blast of mental current at the attacker. He could not channel an Omega Effect blast at the invader, but, hopefully, his mind-assault would be sufficient. 

The pressure lessened. Darkseid continued grinding at Orion's mind. 

There. A little bit of the Equation, part he had not perceived before. If he had not developed iron control of his emotions, Darkseid might well have cried out with joy. 

The stuff was being dredged up. 

-S- 

Mento's head snapped backwards. The Stranger caught him, held him gently but firmly to prevent him getting a whiplash. "Are you under attack, Steve Dayton?" 

After a long gasp, Mento said, "Yeah. Think I am." 

"Ra-Man, Lucian Crawley, shield him," said the Stranger. "I will do what I can." 

Mind-Grabber Kid and the Mind Master increased the power of their mind-link with Mento, redoubling their efforts. They strengthened the power of their shield against outer threats, and poured more into the beam of energy tethering Dayton to Darkseid's mind. Cliff Steele went to Mento and lay a hand on his shoulder. "Hang in there, brother," he said. "We're all here for you." 

"Nice to know, Cliff," said Mento. He was sweating. Robotman tried not to show his tension. Dayton had been driven insane before by just such an operation. If he was pushed to the same degree, or beyond, by this one...no, best not to think about that. 

The Stranger kept his hands on Mento's helmet and head. "Darkseid has won too many battles," he said. "It is time we hit him back." 

With that, his gloved hands began to glow, and Mento felt another force in his mind, channeled along the outside of his link to Darkseid. An angry force, streaming along the tether, intent on striking. 

Outside, there were two more shots, and a burst of semiautomatic fire after that. Gar Logan thought of changing into a bird or a snake or something and investigating. 

But, looking at Steve, he knew he could not leave. So he kept holding his stepfather's hand, and praying. 

That was all he could do right now. 

-S- 

As she flew downward, Supergirl took a hit between the shoulders from a Weaponer's thunderbolt. It exploded, and, despite her invulnerability, it hurt. 

She turned, picked out her assailant from the flying army above, and zeroed in on him. He was trying to extract another one of his bolts from his quiver. His eyes were getting very wide. 

Kara belted him in the face and knocked him out of the sky. He fell, and she blew under him with her super-breath. Just enough to cushion his landing, but not enough to keep him from hitting hard. 

She looked at the Weaponers with a steely glance. With a super-shout, she said, "Anyone else?" 

Nobody seemed willing to take her up on it. 

If she'd had the time, she would have plowed into the lot of them. But her goal now was not taking on the forces of Darkseid. It was saving Beautiful Dreamer. 

She used her super-vision on Darkseid's fortress, the underground portion of it that remained. Not surprisingly, a lot of it was shielded by lead. That didn't matter. She'd have to be careful of the Kryptonite Man, of course, but come Sheol or high water, she was going to get D'reema out of there or die trying. 

No. She was going to get D'reema out of there even if she did die trying. 

Kara hurled herself down at the rubble-strewn headquarters of Darkseid. She checked the environs and the battle sites quickly with her vision powers, just to stay on top of things. The soldiers of New Genesis and Apokolips were at war, now. Real war. People on both sides were getting killed. 

It disgusted her. More than anything else, Darkseid had to be defeated quickly and this wholesale murder had to be put to an end. 

She wondered what had become of Sodam Yat, the Daxamite Green Lantern. With his power, she had expected him to practically be at Darkseid's throat by this time. Swivelling her head as she streaked down, she used her telescopic vision in a wide arc, and finally caught sight of him. 

He was lying on the ground not far from the fortress, face up, apparently unconscious. 

Standing near him was his apparent assailant. A white-haired man in a green shirt, orange pants with a large K on the belt buckle, and blue boots. He had high eyebrows and a decided look of cruelty. 

He was also looking straight at her. 

An instant later, she discovered he could fly. At super-speed. 

He smashed into her and dealt her a crushing blow to the jaw. 

"I would really appreciate having a chance to kill Superman," said Kralik. "After all, he knows me. But for right now, I'll settle for you." 

-S- 

D'reema heard the sounds of battle outside—there was no way of avoiding it, even in the underground cell where she sat—and rushed to the doorway. She pressed her face against the bars, hoping against hope. But there was nothing to see except the hallway beyond. 

"It's no use, dearie," said Granny Goodness. "You're going to have to wait this one out, like me." 

The daughter of Izaya whirled to face Darkseid's lieutenant. "Why are you doing this to me, Granny? You once wanted a child of your own. Doesn't that bespeak any decency in you, any spark of love?" 

Granny arose from the bench and advanced, and D'reema didn't like what she saw in her eyes. 

"Of course it does, dearie," said Granny. "But Granny has her own special kind of love." 

With that, her open hand came out and cracked D'reema across the face, knocking her to the floor. 

Granny stood over her, her breath coming faster. "The great lord is busy, now. He won't have time to worry with us. I may pay for this later, but I'll enjoy myself while I can. Get up." 

D'reema fought back tears. She would not let her enemy see her pain, or much of her sorrow. She fought to turn a face of defiance to her enemy. 

"Get UP." 

Granny grabbed D'reema by her long black hair and yanked, dragging her to her feet with a cry of pain. "There, that's better. My, you're a pretty one, D'reema. Perhaps Darkseid will see fit to give you to Granny as a servant, once this is finished and he rules all. Or perhaps just as a trainee. Wouldn't you like that?" 

"The only thing I'd like to see is you in this cell and me outside it," D'reema hurled back. 

Granny slapped her again, slamming her up against the wall of the cell. D'reema covered her face and tried to hide her sobs. 

"One thing Granny teaches all her plebes is the meaning of courtesy," said the old woman. "Sometimes she has to take an offender out and kill him, in front of the others, just to show the other bad little boys what they shouldn't do. Now, Granny wouldn't like to have to do that to a bad little girl like you. So you treat Granny with courtesy, and there'll be as little of this problem as possible. Do you agree?" 

D'reema said nothing, still covering her face with her hands. 

"I said, do you agree?" Granny grabbed a pressure point near D'reema's shoulder and squeezed hard, making her charge scream. 

"You'd better say yes, dearie," said Granny. "I can keep this going for a long while, you know, oh, yes I can. And it doesn't feel any better at the end than it does at the start." 

"Damn you, let go!" 

"That's the wrong thing to say, dearie." 

Already on her knees, D'reema felt as though someone had shoved a burning brand through her shoulder. She bit her lips to keep from saying anything. But Granny's grip wasn't loosening. No...she couldn't give Granny that satisfaction. She couldn't... 

She screamed. 

"Say it, you little witch! Say you'll treat Granny with respect, and the pain will go away." 

D'reema remained silent. She conjured up illusions of monsters from the pits of Hell flitting about Granny, of zombified cadets whom she hoped looked like the ones Granny had killed, of Orion and Scott Free and Himon. But Granny Goodness was prepared, and none of the illusions fazed her much, outside of giving her a barely perceptible shiver. 

I will not break...I will not break...I will not... 

With a groan, D'reema slumped forward. A look of concern passed Granny's face. The illusions faded. The girl slumped towards the floor. Still retaining her pain-grip with one hand, Granny took D'reema's wrist with the other and checked her pulse. Weaker, but not to the point of endangerment. The wench had simply fainted. 

Granny released her grip, and D'reema's head rolled limply to one side. With a sigh of petulance, Granny lay D'reema out on the floor in a more comfortable position, on her back, her arms crossed upon her breast. She looked about the cell. Darkseid hadn't even provided a blanket. Perhaps she could shout for a guard, and see if one could be provided for the girl. 

After all, it wasn't as though she wanted her to be uncomfortable. 

Granny went to the door, shouted down the hall, and was heard by no one. 

Shaking her head, she went back to the bench, sat down, crossed her ankles, and waited for Beautiful Dreamer to wake up. Perhaps she'd be feeling more courteous then. 

-S- 

The Lantern Corps was almost at a standstill against the Weaponers of Qward. Some of the other old enemies of the Lanterns who hadn't made it to the space battle were also on hand to increase trouble, such as Evil Star and one of Katma's old enemies, the Dark Advocate. Strangely enough, at least to the Lanterns, none of their number had fallen yet. Considering the losses they'd taken in other en masse battles, dating back as far as the war against Al Magone and his troops and as recently as the Goldface / Guy Gardner incident, this was heartening. Since those times, the Corps had trained in team attacks and defense, and their lessons were paying off. 

Star Sapphire, Hollika Rahn, Arisia, and Katma Tui had teamed up as a kind of Women's Auxiliary Corps and were doing their share to kick a major portion of Weaponer butt. Even so, they were on the defensive as much as on the attack, as were the rest of the Green Lanterns. 

Anyone have a report on Sodam Yat?>, sent Hal Jordan, warding off a thrown thunderbolt and blasting a return burst of power ring energy at a klatch of Weaponers. 

A response came back from Kilowog. His ring's still sending, so the poozer's still alive, Hal. Probably out of action. Want me to find him?> 

If you can do it without leaving the fight,> Hal replied. We need all hands on deck.> 

?> 

Just an expression, Kil,> said Hal. See if you can track him.> 

Auron of the Omega Men soared in, zapped the remainder of the Weaponer klatch with a double-handed burst of solar power, and zoomed off to other battles. He waved at Hal and Hal waved back. A second later, the Green Lantern from Earth got another transmission. 

Hal Jordan. Medphyl, Green Lantern of J586 sending.> 

Green Lantern whirled, sending out a curtain of force to shield him from a thunderbolt attack his ring had warned him was coming from behind. Acknowledged, Medphyl,> he sent. What've you got for us?> 

Am arriving with package. Hopefully within the hour. How goes the battle?> 

Pretty heavy,> Hal acknowledged. Watch out for Weaponers. Within an hour for sure?> 

If all goes well,> said Medphyl. May your roots be watered.> 

Same for you, brother,> sent Hal, and returned to the battle. He glanced in another direction for a moment, saw a lovely, pink-clad form, and responded with mixed emotions. 

How good it was to have Carol finally by his side, standing beside him in battle with the powers of Star Sapphire. 

And how terrible it was that she should have to be here at all. 

Once this was done, some things would have to be talked over. Having thought that, Hal Jordan faced the Weaponers again, and got back to work. 

-S- 

Supergirl had never met the man named Kralik. All she knew is that he hit at least as hard as Kal, which was quite considerably hard, even for her. He'd driven her backward with another powerful blow, and, when she brought her foot up for a klurkor kick, he'd simply dodged, taken a diminished hit on his shoulder, and given her a stiff-fingered thrust to the abdomen that hurt like hell. 

She raced through what passed for her super-memory, trying to fit his name to any she'd heard about in the past. There was Krellik, of course, the foe of Captain Action who'd shown up in the Satan Girl incident, but he wasn't this guy. Then she remembered: Kralik. A foe Superman had faced all of one time, and had never forgotten. 

Like Sodam Yat, he was a Daxamite. Most of the populance of Daxam was peace-loving, law-abiding, and not inclined to roam much in space. Kralik the Conqueror was none of those things. He had learned of what power Daxamites had out of the range of their red sun and their world's heavy gravity, and had opted to use it to amass power—and conquest—for himself. 

Kal had met him while standing in for a planet's champion in a duel against Kralik. He found Kralik unequalled in fighting skill, cunning, and dirty tricks, and had to admit that, though Kralik's strength didn't surpass his own, his combat abilities were the better. "I had hoped to end Kralik's career," Superman had said, "but he nearly ended mine." A lucky blow from Superman had decided the fight. After that, he was transported back to prison on Daxam, and that had been the last anyone heard from him. 

Until now, of course. 

Now his legs were entwined with her own and his fingers were at her throat. And, so help her, she couldn't manage to tear them away. 

Kara activated her heat vision and gave him a burst in the face. He winced, snarled, but kept on choking. This guy was tough, to be sure. She reached out her right hand, scratched at his eyes and face, punched him. He kept right on choking. 

Where the hell were Dev and Kal when you needed them? 

Wait, she told herself. Daxamite. One way to beat him. One way to get an edge. 

Kicking in her flight power, Supergirl propelled them away, trying to bring her chin lower to lessen the effect of his death grip. True, she didn't need to breathe, but if her windpipe were crushed and her neck broken, she'd die like any woman of Earth. Her vision was beginning to fade. 

No. She wouldn't let it. D'reema... 

The bastard was grinning. He wasn't even trying to impede her flight. Must think he had her dead to rights, or dead, period. 

Big mistake. Bad mistake. 

She was able to pick out a certain group of combatants on the ground below, and, with waning strength, to propel them both towards them. 

Then not only her own strength was waning. She felt Kralik's grip weakening, drew in a straggling breath, saw his face register surprise and consternation. He spoke. 

"I...hurt," he said. "What are you doing to–" 

She drew back a fist and smashed him right in the face. Two more blows to opposite sides of his jaw finished him off. Kralik dropped to the streets of Apokolips, right in front of the Metal Men. He hit hard and didn't move. 

Lead, standing beside Tina, looked up at the descending Supergirl. "Uhhh," he said. "Who's this guy, Miss Supergirl?" 

She grabbed the unconscious Kralik under the arms, hoisted him, and said, "He's the guy you helped me beat, Lead. Thanks a lot. Gotta run." With that, she flew upward. 

Lead scratched his headplate. "You have any idea what that was about, Tina?" 

The platinum robot shrugged. "Not a clue. Come on, we've got a war to win." 

Within seconds, Kara had picked out Ibis the Invincible with her super-vision, one of the few wizards who wasn't currently engaged in battle. She touched down in front of him, still holding Kralik. "Ibis," she said. "You've got to help." 

He looked at the two of them. "Indeed, if I can," he answered. "But what is required?" 

"This man is dying," she said. "We need to get him into a realm called the Phantom Zone to save his life. Can you find the location in my mind and warp him there, pronto? If he doesn't get there within five minutes, he's gone." 

The Egyptian sorceror stretched forth his wand. "Ibistick," he ordered, in a solemn tone. "Take from this woman the location of this Zone, and transport this man there." To Kara, he said, "Let him go and stand back." 

She complied. In a second's time, a great hand formed from the Ibistick's powers, grasped Kralik, and flew through an opened warp which closed behind them. In the instant it was open, she could see a few familiar faces. Jax-Ur, Professor Vakox, Mon-El. 

At least Mon-El would have one of his countrymen to talk to, now. 

She massaged her throat. "Thanks, Ibis. Glad you could help. Now I have to go." 

He smiled. "That you should be concerned for the well-being of an enemy speaks greatly for yourself," he said. "May the gods be with you, Supergirl." 

"I'll settle for just Rao," she said, leaping into the sky. "But I appreciate it. Good luck to you, too, Ibis." 

She flattened her trajectory out after reaching a sufficient height and beelined for Darkseid's wrecked fortress. This time, she was going to hit a speed that would get her past anything he could muster. At least, she hoped so. 

Most of her vision was blocked by the lead shields of the underground chambers. It didn't matter. 

She was going to bring back D'reema, no matter what they threw at her. 

-S- 

As they fought the Apokoliptics, Nightwing mused on how much had been crowded into these last few weeks. 

They had thought Raven was lost to them after the fight in which Trigon died. But Superman had found her, in desperation, with his vision-powers and had sped her to the Anti-Monitor's fortress to save the lives of the two Supergirls, though she could not save the Superman of Earth-Two. Since then she had rejoined the Titans, though she still seemed troubled. 

Koriand'r had barely escaped a forced marriage with Karras, the Tamaranian, in order to stave off a civil war. Instead, Dick himself had hit on the idea of calling in the Green Lantern Corps. The Earth unit couldn't come, but a team of three Lanterns from other worlds had. They had quelled the rebellion, forced a peace agreement, and left, taking Dick, Jericho, and Starfire with them. But not before Nightwing and Starfire had been married in a Tamaranian ceremony. So were Karras and Taryia, who loved each other and were glad they didn't have to put that love aside for politics. 

Dick and Kory had been wed on Earth as well, in the same ceremony that saw Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle married and Selina poisoned shortly thereafter. The Titans, the JLA, and the Outsiders had to unite to stop a deadly plot of Kobra, the villain who had tried to murder Selina. Kobra had ended up dead. Kory had been wounded, but had since healed. 

Wally West had endured his crisis of confidence, taken up the mantle of the Flash, and, with encouragement from Francis Kane, triumphed over a group of Russian super-villains and saved the Weather Wizard. He had since recovered from the illness that had threatened his life, and was back to his speedy self. But he seemed a bit more mature than he had been. 

Gar Logan was out there with the Phantom Stranger, God knew where. Wonder Girl, despite being a couple of months pregnant, was here fighting side-by-side with her teammates. Cyborg, Kole, and Jericho were still rock-solid, still assets to the Titans. 

But the present crisis had brought many oldsters back to the fold for one last bash. The Hawk, the Dove, Golden Eagle, Speedy, Aqualad, Aquagirl, the winged man called Azrael, all were there to lend a hand. A small Titans-based auxiliary, consisting of their old friends the Ant, the Red Star, Joshua, and the Protector, were also there, fighting as best they could. 

Raven was close by, having neutralized a couple of Weaponers with her powers. "Raven," he called to her. "You left with the Stranger and came back. What's going on with Gar?" 

"He is with Mento, whom I healed," said the daughter of Trigon. "I understand Steve will be an important part of a strike on Darkseid." 

"Healed how much?" said Dick, dodging a thunderbolt. 

"His mind has been repaired," said Raven. "I doubt even his helmet can hurt him now. His love for Gar has returned. But he might still be driven insane, if the strain of his task is great enough." 

"Swell," Nightwing replied. "And by the way, great work. If you ever leave again, we're going to be very, very angry. Can you get to Darkseid?" 

"Not yet," she said. "A barrier of force protects him. Only the Stranger can reach him, and reach him he must." 

"Oh. Great," pronounced Dick. "Let's get back to work." 

She looked at him, curiously. "I have never stopped," she said. 

-S- 

The Marvel Family was currently tied up with a group of foes rung in by Darkseid. First, Mr. Atom, who towered above all in the battle and, his might hyped by Apokolips technology, was able to smash Shazam's heroes to the ground with a single sweep of his colossal metal hand. Second, Sabbac, Captain Marvel, Jr.'s sorcerous enemy, who blasted them with spells that took their toll on the sextet of heroes. Third, Oggar, the evil god who had once been part of Shazam's grouping before he went renegade, and who could match the Marvels with might and magic. Among them, they were giving the Captain, Mary, Junior, and the three Lieutenants a rough time. 

"Should we help them, Supes?" asked Dev-Em as the two of them flew for Darkseid's fortress. 

"Rao knows, I want to, Dev," said Superman. "But right now, those bad guys are just symptoms, as powerful as they are. We need to take out the source first." 

Dev nodded. "I think Kara's ahead of us. She shouldn't go in there alone." 

"When we get there, she won't be." 

That was the last thing Kal had a chance to say before the two of them were intercepted by a flying form as powerful as either of them. Worse, said flying form was surrounded by a deadly green glow, and a mighty blow from his right arm sent them both to the ground, bowling over several members of the Bat-Squad. The new enemy followed them down. 

Superman looked up through a haze of pain. The foe descending towards them wore a yellow mask and cape and an orange-and-yellow costume with a thunderbolt in a circle for a chest emblem. His expression was hidden by his mask, but his body language bespoke his arrogance. And his Kryptonite- radiating power. 

"I thought we'd taken care of him before," muttered Superman, trying to raise himself up. 

"Somebody else you know?" grunted Dev, pulling himself up from the street. 

"He's from Earth-Two," said Superman. "His name is Atoman. He radiates Kryptonite." 

The Man of Steel got up from the pavement just in time to take Atoman's punch to his face. 

-S- 

In deep space, far away from Apokolips, Earth, Tamaran, Oa, Rann, Thanagar, Daxam, and other points of note, two groups of heroes met in a starship shaped like a metal skull. 

One of the teams was a continent of the Friends of Superman. Their number included Captain Thunder, Marvel Maid, Marvel Man, Luma Lynai, Vartox, Garokk, Azmo Coven, and Kral. The other was known as the Vanguard. Among them were heroes known as White Dwarf, Scanner, Anti-Matterman, Solaar, Drone, and Black Nebula. Once, they had helped the New Teen Titans save Superman from Brainiac. 

That was ironic, for now they stood within one of Brainiac's starships in hopes of reviving him. 

"Should we do this thing?" asked Vartox, sincerely. "If we use evil against another evil..." 

"We must," said Scanner, the green-skinned, huge-craniumed leader of the Vanguard. "We are too far from Apokolips to be of aid, and any weapon turned against Darkseid is a valid one." 

"I just hope we still believe that once this thing is done," said Kral. "But you are right about one thing: Brainiac will have the motivation to strike at him." 

"And we've got plenty of motivation to strike at Brainiac, if needs be," said Solaar, who wielded solar flame. "A-M, Nebula, go ahead." 

The hero from the universe of Qward, who constantly guarded himself from positive matter with a force field, joined with Black Nebula and her energy powers. Both were hooked into the starship's power system. Brainiac had this and possibly other alternate starships built in case of emergency, and had transferred his consciousness into it (and possibly others) when his body was destroyed by Darkseid. But, somehow, the craft had lacked the power to incarnate Brainiac in a body. 

They hoped to remedy that. 

The two of them joined their powers and fed energy through the ship. Almost immediately, a reaction was noted. The walls began to extrude metallic feelers, which converged on an open chair. 

"If they get any closer to us, I'll smash them," vowed Captain Thunder. 

"Be still, Captain," said Marvel Maid. "It's just what we knew would happen." 

The feelers began to excrete metallic resin of a sort, which quickly formed into a familiar shape. Looking on it, Kral could only speculate on how the glop could form itself into a hard metallic form in such a short time, complete with the interior workings Brainiac had to have. But form itself it did. 

In seconds, Brainiac was before them, sitting in his command chair. 

"Humans," it said, in a flat robotic tone, looking at them with its steel death's-head visage. "You will all die." 

"No, Brainiac," said Kral. "You'll die again, if we want. Anti-Matterman and Black Nebula are hooked into your power supply, and they can blow you and this whole ship to bits if they want. Or if I give the signal. We want to cut a deal." 

"The human underestimates the unit Brainiac," the computer being responded. "Destruction could be accomplished before you or they had a chance to react. Query: what nature of 'deal'?" 

White Dwarf spoke up. "The multiverse is endangered by Darkseid. We know you're not one of his greatest friends. We need your help." 

Brainiac hesitated only a nanosecond. 

"More input," he said. 

-S- 

Supergirl flew down towards the fortress of Darkseid and remembered what information they'd gotten from Lex Luthor about it. He didn't know everything, but he was aware that the Kryptonite Man was kept prisoner in its bowels. Sodam Yat had knocked out the Kryptonite Broadcasting System, but that didn't mean it was safe to barge in there without protection. 

She landed atop the fortress, cleared away some of the rubble, grasped the ceiling of one of the remaining rooms just below ground level, sank in her fingers, and tore up. A couple of startled monitors on guard looked up. Supergirl disregarded them. 

In a few seconds' time she had shaped the lead shielding into a crude set of body armor. She couldn't see through it, but she trusted her super-hearing to substitute for sight. Kara smashed through the floor of the room, remembering the schematics that Lex had drawn for them, and hoping the son of a babootch hadn't been leaving some things out when he did it. 

Kara descended straight towards the cells of Darkseid's headquarters, one of which was bound to contain D'reema... 

...and slammed into a resistant force so hard she thought she'd broken her ankles. It did cause a crack in the lead shielding over her feet, and she quickly bent to repair it before the pervading K-radiation could weaken her. 

A force-field. It had to be. Possibly something Darkseid cooked up with his Omega Effect. Ruefully, she admitted he wouldn't be dumb enough to leave his most valued prisoner undefended against Kryptonians. But perhaps there was something else she could do. 

Remembering the layout Lex had drawn for them, she smashed through several intervening walls, scattering what guards were on duty, and plowed through several other levels until she came to a last chamber. Thankfully, it was not guarded by the same sort of shield that Darkseid had used for the prison chambers (and, no doubt, for his own quarters). Her super-hearing picked up a heartbeat from a man under restraint, and under great stress. There were also the noises of mechanized equipment, including life-support machinery, and the startled voices of Apokolips techs and guards. Some of them, she knew, had to be training weapons on her. 

She streaked for the source of the labored breathing and hoped she'd have enough speed to do what she needed to do next. 

At a rate quite beyond that of the velocity of light, Supergirl stripped the lead armor from her body, verified with her eyes that the Kryptonite Man lay before her in a bed of restraints, plated the armor about him and sealed it before the K-radiation could sap her powers too fully, and, with an effort, pried him up from his bed of bondage. Raybursts ricocheted off her back from guards and from automated weapons in the ceiling. She paid them no attention. 

Taking the impact on her shoulders, Kara flew upward, smashing through level after level until she and the Kryptonite Man reached the open air. Then she levelled off, sped to the top of an Apokolips building far enough from the site of battle, and set her burden down. With her fingers, she poked two holes in the area of the armor covering his nose, through which he could breathe. 

"I know you can hear me," said Kara. "You're probably a bit grateful. But I can feel that K coming through those nose holes, and I just can't count on you staying out of this fight. I'm sorry." 

With that, she clouted him smartly on the area of the armor covering his jaw. He sagged. Kara let him fall to the rooftop, and checked his vital signs with her super-hearing. He was only unconscious. The force of her lovetap would keep him that way till the battle was done, one way or the other. 

The Girl of Steel leapt up from the building roof and flew back towards Darkseid's fortress at hyperspeed, telling herself that she would find a way to breach the shield around D'reema no matter what it took. She smashed through the roofs of several chambers again, knocked several intervening guards senseless, and made her way to the prison cells. Kara trained her super-vision on them, saw D'reema and Granny Goodness in one, and peeled her lips back from her teeth in a snarl. She could also see the faint glow of the force-shield around the cells, but she was going to try her luck, anyway. She balled her fist and stepped forward, prepared to strike. 

Something grabbed her by the cape and flung her backward. She hit hard against the wall behind her. She was not hurt by the impact, but was astonished by the power of the one who had flung her there. 

When she saw the being responsible, she understood, and gaped at him. Darkseid had more servants than she knew, and she had heard from Kal of this one's deadly power. A power which exceeded his own. 

"Prepare to die," said the Galactic Golem. 

-S- 

Lois Lane was usually a print reporter, but this time, she was doing a stand-up for WGBS News. She was standing up in the midst of the wreckage around the Daily Planet building, facing a camera, and doing a live news feed for the network. She was practiced in looking like a professional during her work, and she needed every bit of that ability right now. 

"You can see the devastation behind me," she said. "The Planet building isn't unscathed, but it made out better than most of its neighbors. The Weisinger Building, the Coates skyscraper, the Donnenfeld financial district...all in ruins. Metropolis has been home to super-hero battles since the 1960's. This time, it endured a super-hero war. 

"Luckily, casualties are at a minimum. FEMA and other agencies were effective in evacuating much of Metropolis's citizenry before many of them could be hurt by the battle. Our hearts go out to the people of Gotham tonight, and to Smallville, Bigville, and all the other communities who have taken in what must be thought of as...our refugees. 

"The kingpin figure of this war, a villain identified as 'Mantis,' has been confirmed killed by an unknown hero. The Parasite, one of Superman's greatest foes, has also been identified among the dead. In the wake of their deaths, the remaining super-villains surrendered and have been taken into special custody. Some of them were reported removed to a sideral dimension by several heroes with transport capacity, until they can be imprisoned more effectively. Many questions remain, and many answers are simply not at hand. 

"Where Superman was during this conflict is a topic of great concern. But this reporter has learned that he was on another world, with Supergirl and some other heroes, fighting against forces aligned with the ones which ravaged our city. He was unable to reach Earth before the climax of the battle, and his reaction to the sight of its devastation was said to be, quote, 'quite emotional'. 

"Now Superman has left Earth again, along with most of its heroes, to, quote, 'finish the war.' Among those who have left with him are my friend and fellow Planet reporter, Jimmy Olsen, in his Elastic Lad identity. Superman did not reveal their destination. Until their return...if they do return...we can only speculate. 

"Many Metropolitans have been reported missing in the wake of the super-villain war. Among them are my...husband...Clark Kent, and Lana Lang, both of them co-anchors of the WGBS news. If anyone hearing this report has information on them, or if Clark Kent and Lana Lang themselves are watching, please contact WGBS at the number which will be flashed on your screen. Any other reports of missing persons may be phoned in at the same number. 

"For the moment, those are all the details we have. Tomorrow, the rebuilding will begin. Today, all we have is the wreckage of a very proud city, and the hopes that the spirit of its people remains unbroken and willing to start anew. For WGBS news, I'm Lois Lane." 

The minute the camera was turned off, Lois Lane sagged and sat down on a heap of fallen concrete. Hank, the cameraman, looked at her with concern. "You all right, Lois? Hell, I'm stupid to even ask." 

Lois, her eyes closed, massaged her forehead. "I'll be fine, Hank. Just...taking things an hour at a time. That's all I can do." 

"If you need a place to stay tonight, Lois, the family has an extra bed in the guest house. It's not good to be alone at a time like this." 

"Thanks, Hank. I've got a hotel room. Tomorrow I'll be better. Especially if I see Clark." 

"Yeah," he said. "Hope you do. Hope all of us do." 

Lois didn't answer. She knew she had told a white lie on the broadcast. She knew very well where Clark and Lana were, and where they had gone. She wanted so badly to go to her motel room, crawl under the covers, take a sleeping pill, and forget the last week had even happened. She wanted to be back in bed with the man she loved, the man who had been taken away from her after so short a time together by this blasted crisis. She wanted to call in sick to work tomorrow, or quit, and drive upstate to her parents' farm in Pittsdale. 

But she knew she'd be back at work tomorrow, because she was a reporter, and a good one. 

Briefly, Lois thought about the Lois Lane of Earth-Two, and what she had gone through when her Superman died. She also hoped that history didn't repeat itself on other Earths with such exactitude. 

Hank spoke to her again. "Want to cut for eats? I know a place that's still standing that has great steaks." 

She looked up and gave him a wan smile. "Lead me to it," she said. 

-S- 

Darkseid felt as though someone had hit him with a bludgeon. 

An outside force was striking him. Not just trying to pry Orion from his grasp, but striking him! With enough force to actually be felt. No...with enough power to actually hurt him. 

This was not acceptible. Certainly not on the cusp of his greatest victory. And victory had to be assumed, had to be worked for, had to be expected, in order to be realized. But preparations had to be made for the unexpected, at every step of the campaign. This was only another bit of unexpected business. 

With a sudden rage, Darkseid struck back, using his own well-honed mental powers to repel the pressure within his brain. It worked, for a bit. He could feel the attacker withdrawing. Once again, he bent to the task of pulverizing his son's mind. 

Then he felt it again. The swine were battering him anew, using a mental battering ram on the one hand and a pair of tongs to extract his son's soul on the other. It was effective, he had to admit. 

But he would give them no more than that. He was Darkseid. 

The lord of Apokolips bent to his task, disregarded as much of the pain as he could, and went back to work on Orion's mind. There...another bit of Equation... 

WHAM.> 

Ignore the pain. Work. 

Not much more time remained. Not much more was needed. 

WHAM.> 

Work... 

-S- 

As the Golem knocked her through a steel-reinforced wall, Supergirl sought to find a way to strike back, and found her foe's history a lot easier to review than Kralik's. 

The Galactic Golem (she remembered as the thing reached for her throat, just like Kralik, and she kicked her legs up at its face, barely managing to free herself) was a creation of Lex Luthor. Brother Baldhead had found a way of putting galactic matter together into a living being, a huge, eight-foot semi-Frankenstein with blue-black skin dotted over with starbursts, programming its mind to do what he wanted, and sending it against Superman. The Golem lived on what Luthor termed "galactic energy", which power boosted his considerably beyond Superman's. In their first encounter, Kal had learned that bashing the white starburst on the Golem's forehead would have exploded it, but would also have destroyed a good part of the city and possibly the state if he had done so. 

In their first battle, Superman and Luthor himself had lured the Golem off Earth with the enticement of meteors in space charged with the energy that sustained him. Once the meteors were used up, the Golem became almost wholly inert. He was picked up by a passing space patrol, revived by a judicious application of galactic energy, and tricked away from the planet he had been taken to by another swarm of meteors. The problem with that was the meteors led the Golem back to Earth. 

(Supergirl tried to hit the Golem in the labonza but took an uppercut that wedged her through the ceiling. She was pulled down by her legs and the fight went on.) 

The inevitable return match with Superman occurred, in the vicinity of the Fortress of Solitude. Kal triumphed by coating the Golem with molten metal directly over the North Magnetic Pole. The force of magnetism had neutralized the Golem again, and he remained a motionless statue, hopefully forever. Wishful thinking. Darkseid must have been researching every villain still available on the five Earths, and if anyone besides Luthor (possibly including Luthor, though Lex didn't say such) could have freed him, Darkseid could. And obviously had. 

(His fingers feel like charged atomic particles, which, in a sense, they are...Supergirl scores a double-handed uppercut to the Golem's chin. It slows him down for a moment.) 

Now, how can one beat an energy-being like the Golem? Force him to expend his power? Maybe, but that takes more time and more energy than you have, Kara. Overload him? Maybe, if you can get him to a gaggle of Green Lanterns, but that isn't likely. Overpower him? Not possible. 

Avoid him? Maybe. 

But that didn't seem like an option, either. The blue-black beast was grabbing her in a bear hug about the back and crushing her against his cosmically-energized chest. She could feel the crackle and hear the muted spark of it as she struggled to keep from having her ribcage collapsed. That would kill her as easily as it would an Earthwoman, and the Golem was capable of doing it. 

At least he wasn't smiling... 

Then something rocketed into the Golem's back, pitching them both forward, and Kara hit the floor of the fortress on her back. Two pairs of hands grabbed the Golem's arms and, with great effort, succeeded in pulling them free. They got him off Kara, and pulled him up, just before the Golem threw them both off and watched them carom off the walls. 

Supergirl rushed to the side of Power Girl and Superboy, and, checking them out, was gratified to know they weren't badly hurt. 

"Looked like you could use a hand, K," said Kara of Earth-2, picking herself up off the floor. 

"Likewise," said Superboy. "Only it looks like we can, too." 

The Golem was advancing. Kara brainstormed for an instant, and then said, "Give me your capes." 

"My cape?" Superboy looked at her in befuddlement. 

"Don't have the time to argue," she snapped. At hyper-speed, Kara ran behind young Kal, undid the clasps that held his cape in his neckpiece, and then did the same with a compliant Power Girl. Then she did the same with her own. 

"After I do this, hold onto him," she barked. Then she flew at the advancing Golem and, to its surprise, wrapped it up from head to foot in their Kryptonian-material capes. 

"Grab him!" 

Power Girl and Superboy both laid hands on the cape-wrapped Golem, wrapping their arms around his chest and legs, respectively, but knew they couldn't restrain him for more than a few seconds. 

Supergirl used her X-ray vision for accuracy, zeroed in on the area where the Golem's forehead starburst was covered by her cape, and, praying for luck, slammed home a punch. 

She barely had time to wrap her own arms about the mummified Golem before he exploded. 

"HOLD ON!" she screamed, barely heard over the confined explosion. The material of their invulnerable capes blew outward, stretching the fabric, heating up to an incredible degree. It felt like trying to contain an atomic detonation by wrapping a bomb in gauze. Kara saw the strain and astonishment in both her friends' faces and knew they could see it in her own, as well. 

But the capes held, and so, miraculously, did they. 

With the blast's passing, the capes collapsed inward. The Trio of Steel felt the pressure lessening, the volume within the cape-wrappings diminished past that which were the Golem's natural dimensions. Then, the capes simply contained nothing within themselves. 

Kal-El of Earth-Prime breathed more regularly. "He's gone," he observed. 

"Who in Sheol was that, K? Blue Frankenstein, or something?" asked Power Girl, rubbing her arms. 

"The Galactic Golem," Kara replied. "He's an old enemy of Superman's, an energy being. That white star on his head was his Achilles heel. I just had to gamble that our capes could contain the blast. Thanks, both of you, and I mean that." 

"So what do we do next?" asked Superboy. 

She turned to him with a grim expression. "We save D'reema. And we take down Darkseid."   



	34. Part 34:   The Last Battle

Supergirl: 

The Apokolips Agenda 

Part 34 

by DarkMark   
  


Over almost the entire globe of Apokolips, the forces of New Genesis were attacking the planet's armies. 

Energy-cannons, warships, compressed matter bombs, anti-energy, almost any weapon that could deal death was employed. Izaya's forces strove not to harm civilians. But casualties on both sides were mounting up. 

The Green Lanterns and the heroes of Earth saw the carnage and were chagrined, but were too occupied with their own foes to do anything about it. For the Celestials, this was not a super-hero fight. It was war, and war in all its bloody incarnation. 

Izaya had known it before, in the great conflict that had led to the exchange of his son for Darkseid's. Now their equipment had advanced a few decades' worth, but the killing was much the same. It made him sick. 

But this time, there would be no compromise. This time, one side would win, or possibly both would perish. If this ended in a cataclysm to rival that which had befallen the Old Gods, such would have to be. 

He damned himself and wondered if he would dare see what the Source had to say to him, once this all was done. 

-S- 

Atoman was smashing the heads of Superman and Dev-Em together when he saw a man in a blue and black uniform and a captain's hat approaching from above. He threw the two Kryptonians aside for a moment. "Another Amerikaner," he said. "Another fool." 

That was just before he was hit by the thunderbolt of Zeus. 

Even a Nazi with the power of a Kryptonian couldn't withstand that sort of impact, and Captain Action followed up with a double-fisted blow on the fly that sent Atoman spinning, literally. Action Boy, utilizing the speed of Mercury, hit him from behind and kept the spin going. Then a golden lasso encircled the villain from behind, pulling him away. Groggily, Atoman looked at his captor. 

"Ach," he said. "Der Wunder Fraulein." 

"Try Wunder Frau," said Diana of Earth-One, and smashed him upside the head with her Amazonium-braceleted wrist. His eyes rolled upward and he went unconscious. 

Wonder Woman dragged Atoman out of range of Kal and Dev, who were being helped up by Captain Action and Action Boy. "This is the second time you've had to bail me out, Captain," said Kal. "Hope it isn't becoming a habit." 

Cap smiled. "Just be glad I turn up at the right moment, Superman." 

"Much obliged, lad," said Dev-Em. "You related to the Flash?" 

"Nope," said the other. "Call me Action Boy. I'm Cap's son. Speaking of action, we need to make some." 

"I agree," said Superman, rising to his full height and activating his flight power. "I can see Kara, Power Girl, and young Kal at Darkseid's fortress. All of you, follow me." 

"With pleasure," said Dev, and took to the air alongside him. The Action pair followed suit. Kal expected a trap along the way, given what they'd endured so far. But the main objective now was Darkseid, and he was determined to reach him. 

On the way, they saw two small figures standing on the ground not far from the fortress. Superman recognized one of them, and knew they were in for trouble. 

"I, I may not be able to do this thing," said Master Man, looking up nervously. 

Lord Satanis, Superman's old enemy, reached out a blazing hand towards him. "You will," he said. "Or I will send you to our master ahead of schedule. Do it. Now." 

The villain from Earth-S gulped, said his magic word, and stretched his powers to the utmost. He felt his consciousness being blitzed, felt every capacity he had being taxed, felt almost as a woman might feel during a particularly arduous birth. 

Master Man was the opposite number of Kid Eternity. Both of them had the power to summon the dead to life for a short period of time, but Master Man's revived subjects devoted their powers to evil. And this time, he was summoning the most evil being he had ever dared to bring back from behind the veil. 

In this case, it was bringing him back from behind the flames. When it was done, Master Man collapsed in a faint. Nobody much noticed him. 

The returnee stretched out a huge, clawed hand, and dropped Superman, Dev-Em, Captain Action, and Action Boy in their tracks. 

Trigon looked out upon an astonished sea of heroes, picked out his daughter Raven, and smiled. 

He would save her for last. The rest would not take that long. 

-S- 

Brainiac, though a mechanical creation, had some abilities which were disconcertingly human. One of those was a device he had built which enabled him to make the equivaent of a telepathic assault. With the Friends of Superman and the Vanguard standing by to make sure his assault wasn't turned against them, he triggered the device, and, despite the distance intervening, hit his target unerringly. 

Many light-years away, within his Omega Barrier force-field, guarded by darkness, on the verge of pulling up more of Orion's last secret despite the attack of his unseen foes, Darkseid was hit with a barrage of mental static, and opened his mouth wide in pain. This would be, in a lesser being, the equivalent of an agonized death-scream. 

The lord of Apokolips struggled to put up what mental shields he possessed, disregarded the pain even as he reeled from it, and bent all the more to his task. What agony he could shunt off to Desaad, he did. He took no notice of the man's screams within his brain. 

The task was almost finished. He must not fail. He would not fail. 

WHAM.> 

Followed by another burst of painful static. 

The Equation was almost his. 

That would be worth all of the pain. 

That, and the revenge which would shortly follow. 

-S- 

Supergirl, Power Girl, and Superboy were hammering on the force-field of Darkseid's prison cells with all their might. Nothing happened. It resisted their strength, their speed, their combined heat-vision. Power Girl shook her gloved right hand and was afraid she might have fractured a finger or two. 

"This isn't working, K," she said. 

"It has to work!" Supergirl smashed a colossal, fist-bruising smash against the field over a door. All it did was strike sparks. Superboy moved behind her to take her by the shoulders. 

"Take it easy, Miss Kara," he said. "We won't help anybody by breaking our hands." 

Her shoulders slumped, but she remained tense. "Much as I hate to admit it, Kal, you're right. Not even the energy residue in our capes fazed that thing." 

Power Girl said, "There has to be a natural counterforce to this thing. If Darkseid put it up, who has the power to take it down?" 

Supergirl started to say that she didn't know, but she was interrupted by Power Girl slapping herself in the head. "Stupid. I should have known, for Rao's sake. I worked with the JLA and the JSA on that case where we came here the first time. K, we need to get Highfather. He's the only one who can breach this field." 

"Oh," said Kara, dully. "If stupidity is contagious, Kara, I think I gave it to you." 

Superboy said, "Hey, I should have thought of it, too. I'm the one who read all of the Fourth World books. Want me to find Izaya and get his help? I can use my vision to find him." 

Kara took a deep breath. "If you can get through, Kal, go make like Gunga Din. But if you can't, we may not be able to make a second try." 

Power Girl was using her X-ray vision to scan the outside even as Superboy said, "I'm gone." He began to crouch for a spring. She wheeled and grabbed him. 

"No, you're not, Kal," she said, tersely. "Take a look at what's going on out there." She turned him around and pointed in the appropriate direction. 

He gaped. "Good Lord," he managed to say. 

Supergirl used her own vision powers to check out the situation and felt herself paralyzed for a long moment. When she could speak again, she said, "Sit tight." 

All three of them stood there, and watched what was going on outside. 

-S- 

A wave of unholy power was pouring from the red-skinned, antlered giant that stood before Darkseid's fortress. Many of the heroes of Earth-One had felt it personally, months before the Crisis, when Trigon had walked their world and died. 

He was a demon, and more than a demon. In his world, he was the absolute lord of mystic evil. He had been summoned by a cult of dark worshippers to father a child on Arella, one of their members. That child had been the girl Raven, and she, ironically, was the one who banded together the New Teen Titans to oppose him. They opposed him twice, and, despite his power being beyond theirs as a hydrogen bomb is beyond the capacity of dynamite, they triumphed. But, as the cliche goes, just barely. 

In the second of these encounters, Trigon had turned most of the heroes of Earth to stone. That was what he was doing now, and not all the magical power of the many mages in their company nor all the science-based might of the other heroes was able to stop him. Dr. Fate, Halo, Captain Atom, Green Arrow, Batman, all the rest, all the heroes, all the villains, all of them were petrified in their tracks. 

One youth, in a white shirt, grey pants, and red sash, was only partially affected, thanks to the efforts of an invisible spirit beside him. But even he could not hold back the power of Trigon for long. 

Raven herself, fighting back incredible dread, launched herself into the air. Her bird-form swelled about her in glowing blackness. "Father," she cried, in a voice that carried over the battlefield. "Destroy me only! Or I will destroy you!" 

"That will not be necessary," said Trigon. "For now, we will only...play." He reached out a titanic hand, grasped her almost casually, and held her, her power searing his palm. He smiled down at her, and continued to turn the heroes and villains of Earth to stone. 

Kid,> said Mr. Keeper. Say the word. You know who to bring back. It's your only chance.> 

The youth from Earth-S moved his lips, with difficulty. "E–" 

Keep going, Kid. Keep going!> The fat, blue-colored spook, visible only to the Kid himself, looked on him with desperation. 

"...ter..." 

Two more syllables, kid. Don't let us down. Come on!> 

"...ni..." 

Mr. Keeper lay ghostly hands on the boy, who was almost entirely paralyzed. Just one more, Kid. One more! You're the last hope! Come on and SAY IT!> 

And, with an effort that might have moved mountains, the boy's lips moved once more. 

"...ty." 

A burst of noise, a smell of ozone, a puff of smoke, and Kid Eternity had summoned one more warrior from the dead. 

Said warrior was in a hospital johnny, red-haired with a white streak through it, standing on the field before Trigon, looking up and wondering what the hell he was doing here. 

The demon looked down upon him and laughed. "Little man," he said. "Why have you been brought here? Tell me who you are, before you die." 

Hearing it, Jim Corrigan realized why he was there. He straightened, gave Trigon the Clint Eastwood look he'd perfected on many a perp in his beat as a cop, and laid down the word for him. 

"Don't bother," he said. "I've already done that twice." 

And with that, he opened a mental channel, prayed, and watched the great red hand descend towards him with terrific speed. 

That was only an instant before a white and green form boiled out from his chest like an angry billow of cloud, resolving into solidity, expanding, grabbing Trigon's hand by the wrist, and forcing it upward. The four-eyed demon looked on his foe with anger and concern, and not a little rage. 

The Spectre looked into Trigon's eyes, let him glimpse the skulls that served him for pupils, and thrust a hand into and through his chest. It protruded from Trigon's back, in ghastly fashion. Trigon's left hand went limp, and Raven flew to freedom. 

Then the Guardian Ghost sent a surge of white energy through his arm, at full power. 

Trigon exploded. 

It was hard for the nonmystics to see or perceive. For those who could see it, bits of red psychomatter radiated away from the Spectre's outstretched arm, and Trigon's face, for the second time in a lifetime, held an expression of terror before it disintegrated. There was little audible noise, but a psychic roar for those who were attuned to hear it. 

Trigon was dead again. 

In the wake of his destruction, a new wave of energy purled forth and restored his victims to normalcy. As quickly as they had been converted into statues, the heroes and villains of the five Earths became human again. 

The Spectre turned his head to his comrades and smiled. "My friends, I cannot stay," he said. "This summoning controverts too many normal channels as it is. But I was glad to be of service in this battle. From here on, I must return beyond the Veil." 

"Spectre, wait,"called Raven. "We need you!" 

But even as she spoke, the Wraith of Wonder was converting back to his smoky form, lessening, and boiling back into the body of Jim Corrigan. 

The police detective looked out at the assemblage, saw a few old friends and many acquaintances, and said, "Sorry I couldn't do more. How do I get back?" 

Kid Eternity spoke one word. In a puff of smoke, Jim Corrigan was gone. 

It took a few moments for everyone to take stock. "The Spectre," said Hourman. "My God. I never thought I'd see him again." 

"Actually, Dad, I hope we never have to," said Hourman II, beside him. 

Lord Satanis, standing beside the fallen Master Man, decided to take matters in hand and began to unleash a death-spell of his own. Dr. Fate, streaking in from above, had ideas of his own. The Servant of Darkness was a little slow on the draw, as it were. 

Fate put his hands to his helmet, lifted it off, and, swooping low, jammed it over the red helmet of his enemy. The power of Order, imbued within the golden helm, had an immediate reaction with the powers within Satanis's headgear. 

There was an explosion everyone could hear, and what happened to Lord Satanis was not at all pretty to look upon. 

Kent Nelson, standing in his blue and gold uniform, hesitated a second. Then he reached out, separated his own helmet from Satanis's, and replaced it on his head. Thankfully, it contained no baleful energies. He then took Satanis's helmet. It came away from his body, with what was left of his head inside. 

"The Helmet of Hell," said Fate. "It cannot be destroyed. But I will secrete it away, once the battle is done." 

Metamorpho said, "Once this is done, I'm going to declare a Be Nice To Spooks Week." 

"Count me in on that one, Meta," said the Flash, glad to feel his limbs returned to flesh. 

Superman looked about him, and spoke to his allies. "Those of you on the other side, this is your last chance. Either stand with us, or stand with Darkseid. There are enough of us left to clean your clocks, and that's just what they'll do to those of you stupid enough to fight for a being that wants to turn you into zombies. 

"As for me, Dev, the Captain, Action Boy, and anybody else we can spare, come with me. We're going on ahead. We're going to take out Darkseid. Or die trying." He launched himself into the air, Dev and company behind him by a nanosecond, and even managed to throw in an "Up, up, and away!" as he took flight. 

As they headed for what was left of Darkseid's fortress, Superman remembered what Highfather had told him of the Source's prophecy of the two "S" shields. 

He wondered what it meant, and what sacrifice they would have to make to fulfill it. 

-S- 

Kalibak, aboard a warsled, was in his element. With the rays of his warclub, and sometimes with the club itself, he was killing the soldiers of New Genesis. 

Source, it was great. To be able to make war anew, to be able to murder...this was what he was born for. Not the wimpish restraint of his brother, or the generalship that was his father's realm. No. Kalibak was a destroyer, like the primitives whose aspect he bore. Some called him a throwback, and, if he was such, he bore the label proudly. He was one with those who had slain to survive, or slain because of any damn reason they felt like giving. Or no reason at all. 

If there were a tribe of killers, he would proudly proclaim himself a member of it. One of the survivors. 

Those thoughts went through his mind as he broke through the guard of one New Genesite, swung his club, and splattered his brains. The soldier turned upside down on his flying discs and his dura matter reached the ground before his body. 

Kalibak laughed. 

Then he saw who was coming for him. 

Four wet-eared kids from New Genesis. They were adults now, but they would always be children to him. Wrapped safely in their naivete, unblooded in battle, thinking that in Earth they had refuge from the war between the worlds. Simple-minded brats. 

Riding a Super Cycle, and looking grim. Trying to look like soldiers. Moonrider, Big Bear, Serifan, and Vykin the Black. The Forever People. 

"Forever ends today," muttered Kalibak, and triggered his warclub. 

He sent forth a wide-angled neutron blast that should have enveloped the entire stupid cycle they rode, and targeted them all. At least, that's what should have happened, by all the estimation of the best weapons designers on Apokolips. 

Instead, the black one, Vykin, simply stood up in his sidecar, pointed both his hands together, and generated a magnetic field that split the blast so that it travelled around them, not touching the cycle or the brats. 

They said nothing. They were still looking like soldiers, or trying to. Well, the distance between them was lessening, and he'd have a chance to open some heads one way or the other. And perhaps a more tightly-focused beam would do the trick where a widecast didn't. He adjusted the controls on the side of his club and tried again. 

This time, it was the black-haired one, the good-looking sissy boy, the one they called Mark Moonrider. He was bending his arm back as if he were about to throw something, but he had nothing in his hand. Nothing visible, that is. Moonrider swept his arm forward and followed through with ferocious body english, like a fastball pitcher out to strike out Hank Aaron in the bottom of the ninth. 

A blast of impact hit Kalibak and knocked him backward on his warsled. Mark Moonrider's Megaton Touch had done its job. 

"Your turn, brother," said Big Bear, gently. Serifan didn't need any prompting. He grabbed two capsules from the band of his cowboy hat like a gunslinger going for his .45's. With both hands, he let fly. They went unerringly for Kalibak. 

Darkseid's second son slapped away one with his warclub, which was just what Serifan was counting on. A powerful charge of destructive energy went through the club at its touch, searing and fusing its mechanisms, causing Kalibak to roar in pain and, yes, drop the club. He cursed himself, cursed his weakness, and cursed the whelp in the hat just before the second capsule hit him, engulfed him in choking gas, made him gasp and clutch at his throat, and lose control of the warsled. 

That didn't matter much in the long run. The Super Cycle hit him and smashed the warsled to flinders. 

Bits of metal, plastic, wiring, and whatever else comprised the splintered sled went flying past the Forever People on all sides, pushed around them by the magnetic force-field Vykin generated to protect them. But, as they had intended, Kalibak landed right on the Cycle, crouching on the frontal assembly, and wondering what was to come next. 

Big Bear stood up. "Come on, you grotty, shaveless, plug-ugly son of a scaghead. I'm not that hard to reach." 

"You," snarled Kalibak. "YOU..." 

"He's mine, boys," said Big Bear, and met Kalibak's charge while still standing up in his seat. 

The son of Darkseid was as skilled as he was strong, and as deadly as he was skilled. He had his hands out ready to rip Big Bear's hairy head from his body. But he had never faced the youth of New Genesis in battle. 

Big Bear wasn't only the strongest one of the Forever People. He had mastered fighting skills quite unknown to even Kalibak, and, dodging one of the Apokoliptic's hands, grabbed the other with his left hand and hit him with a knife-hand strike in a vital area of the chest. It might not have worked without the softening-up process of Serifan's capsules and the collision, but as it was, it was most effective. Kalibak gasped, paralyzed for a second by pain. 

That was all Big Bear needed. His great gloved right hand came up in an uppercut and hung one on Kalibak's black-beared jaw. The bruiser's head snapped backward with great force. 

It didn't put Kalibak out, but Big Bear held him by the shirt with his left hand and smashed blow after blow into his face with the other until it did. Nobody in the crew had seen him this mad, this vicious, or this rampant. But all of them agreed it was a darned appropriate time for him to be so. 

After awhile, Moonrider said, "I think that's enough, Bear. He's probably been out for a minute or so already." 

"That may be so, brother," said Big Bear, still clouting his foe from side to side. "But it does feel good to let out the old pent-up aggressions." With that, for good measure, he kneed Kalibak as hard as he could. If his foe was on the conscious side of things, that would have taken care of it. He wasn't, and it was superfluous. 

Big Bear draped Kalibak over the front of the Super Cycle. "Anybody got something we can tie him up with?" 

Serifan produced a lasso from beneath his seat. "Never go anywhere without it, pardner," he proclaimed. 

A few minutes later, the Forever People headed for Supertown, their prize trophy tied to the front of their machine. 

-S- 

Superboy streaked out from the fortress of Darkseid, hoping that the two Karas would still be alive by the time he got back. Below him was a mass of heroes and a number of villains. Above him, the Green Lantern Corps and the Weaponers continued their war. On other points of the globe, the New Genesites and Apokoliptics were killing each other. 

And here he was playing messenger boy. But it had to be done. 

He wasn't as experienced with the use of telescopic vision as Kara and Kal, but he had done it before. With a mental command, Superboy focused his eyes on the far distance before him, and swept it from side to side. 

The Boy of Steel saw a lot more than he wanted to see. All of it under the heading of death. 

But, finally, he picked out a battle in which the largest mass of Celestials seemed to be engaged, not that far from Darkseid's home city. He surveyed the combatants, saw a battle standard, and checked out the armored figures nearby it. One of them looked familiar, even through the armor. He increased the magnification power of his vision, and checked out what was exposed of the man's face. 

Highfather. 

Young Kal-El increased his flight speed and made for the warsite. As he did so, he felt an incredible stabbing pain in his back, heard an explosion, smelled ozone. The thing dropped him to the dirt below, whatever it was. He landed hard, and face-down. 

Superboy felt of his back, felt the cape and tunic over it, and ran his hand over the area. It stung, but he didn't seem to be badly wounded. With such weapons, though, it was hard to tell. 

Another thunderbolt landed near him, hit the ground, and exploded. A Weaponer's bolt. That's what they had hit him with. But he didn't have time for this. For cripes sake, he was on a mission. Darkseid was about to conquer the Multiverse. Why they hadn't rung in Dr. Fate, or a Green Lantern, or somebody magical who could just send a mental message to Izaya, he had no idea. But he had long since passed over those types, on the battlefield outside Darkseid's fortress. 

That left it up to him, and he was damned well going to do it. 

Kal-El of Earth-Prime launched himself into the air once again, looking upward, seeing the Weaponers on their flying disks, and taking note of those who might be breaking off their battles with the Lanterns long enough to toss a bolt at him. When they did, he zigged out of the way, glad for what he know of broken-field running. 

When he got to the battle site, he almost overshot it before he remembered to slacken speed. A great anti-energy cannon had been brought up to train upon the New Genesis troops. He slammed into it full-throttle, smashing it to pieces, scattering the soldiers of Darkseid, and continuing on without a clip. Maybe that, he thought, would establish his bona fides with the other side. 

In another second, he touched down on his feet before Izaya and his commanders and was met with a bunch of blasters pointed in his face. 

"Stay," ordered Highfather, in a loud voice. "This one is known to me. He is our ally." 

"Glad...to hear that," Superboy said, a bit out of breath. "Highfather, I...bring a message from Supergirl." 

"Are you sure of this boy?" asked one of the guards, his weapon still trained on Superboy. 

"Lower your blaster or answer to me," Izaya said. "Speak, youth." 

"She needs you to use your Alpha power," Kal said. "Darkseid and...Beautiful Dreamer...are behind two Omega Effect force-fields. We...can't get through. Need your help." 

"This is at Darkseid's fortress?" Izaya asked. 

"Definitely, sir." 

The lord of New Genesis raised his right hand. From his five fingers, an equal number of white, bullet-like streams of energy poured. Kal looked on it in awe. Even Jack Kirby couldn't do this guy justice. 

In a moment, it was over. 

Izaya said, "You may stay here and aid my troops, if you will, young Superman. You may retujrn to aid your fellows. Or you may come with me." 

"Uh, sir, where are you going?" asked Superboy. 

"My liege," said one of the field commanders. "With all due respect, we need you here." 

"With as much respect, Tylon, if we do not win the war at Darkseid's doorstep, we do not win it at all," returned Izaya. "I must take the battle to him. But first I must make another journey. In your hands, for the moment, I must leave this battle." 

"Lord Izaya," said another. "Do not." 

"I must," he said, and a Boom Tube thundered into existence. 

The armored king cast a look back at Superboy for a moment before he stepped within it. Hesitating only a moment, Superboy followed suit. The Tube's end collapsed a few seconds later. The commanders looked on in chagrin. 

Finally, Tylon said, "We know how to fight, brothers. With or without Izaya, we must win this war." 

They returned to the business of killing. 

-S- 

The Green Lantern who was a plant arrived near Hal Jordan, bearing one small figure in his hand and towing an unconscious, creepy-looking comatose young man in a green travel aura. Greetings, brother Lantern,> said Medphyl, putting up a shield to ward off Weaponers' bolts. 

Greetings returned,> said Hal, twisting to dodge a yellow thunderbolt. What've you got?> 

The tiny Swamp Thing spoke up. He has...me...Green Lantern. I will...strive...to be of...service.> 

It is a plant elemental,> said Medphyl. If we can conduct him to the planet's surface, we may be able to turn this war to our side.> 

I hesitate to ask how,> said Hal, blasting another Weaponer off his disks. You need an escort?> 

I can defend myself,> Medphyl returned. But if some would come with me, our seedling might more safely bear fruit.> 

Acknowledged,> said Hal. Opening another couple of mental channels, the Green Lantern sent another message. Honor Team, Omegans, we've got a job for you. The GL I'm sending you a mental picture of needs an escort force down to Apokolips. This is major. Can we count on you?> 

Magicko speaking,> sent the Honor Team's sorcerer leader. We will be there, Green Lantern.> 

Primus sent, The Omega Men will do their part, Green Lantern of Earth. I'll send an envoy in moments.> 

Acknowledged. Home in on my ring signal. Out.> Hal turned back to the vegetable hero. They're coming, Medphyl. Just try and stay alive on the way.> 

We will, Hal Jordan,> said Medphyl. May Darkseid wither on the vine.> 

The weed of crime bears bitter fruit,> replied Hal. 

A marvelous saying. Where did you hear that one?> 

Oh...around.> 

-S- 

In Baron Winters's mansion, Madame Xanadu dropped her tarot cards. "It's almost there," she said, in a voice above a whisper. 

Dr. Occult, Tim Hunter, John Constantine, and the Baron turned towards her immediately. "Oh, Christ," said Constantine. "Christ help us, Madame. You sure?" 

Tim put a hand to his head. "I'm feeling something, too, John. Feels like...pressure. Cold. I dunno. Is that what you feel, Madame?" 

Baron Winters said, "She feels what we will all feel in a few moments. The Equation is almost within Darkseid's grasp." 

Occult grasped John's and Winters's hands. "Come on. We have to get to the table. We have to try a seance. Maybe we can head this thing off." 

Winters shook Occult's hand off. "There is no time. We could not get through before...it is spoken. What is to be done, must be done by the Stranger's men." 

"Can't we give them a hand, psychically?" Constantine stubbed out his cigarette in a dish, not thinking. 

Winters stared at him. 

"All right, all right, all right," John replied. "Guess I'd better start prepping for my career as Darkseid's doorman." 

"Don't even joke about that, John," warned Dr. Occult. "Don't even joke." 

-S- 

Ra-Man, his brow dripping sweat, said, "I can sense an outside force working with us. At least, not working against us." 

"Me, too," said Lucian Crawley, his eyes closed with effort. "But...it's still so damn hard..." 

"Maintain your power," warned the Stranger. "We are close to success. But so is Darkseid. Whatever works against him, I welcome." 

Gar Logan, holding Mento's hand, said, "Dad. How are you holding up?" 

"Gar...just...hold on," grated Steve Dayton, his eyes shut, his neck muscles straining. Changeling gave his stepfather's hand a squeeze. It was tensed to the max, and Dayton did not respond. 

Robotman paced the floor. "Maybe I should be out there with Wilson," he mused. "I'm not much use here. My team's on Apokolips, maybe getting creamed. I'm not with them." 

"Cliff," said Gar. "You know better than that. You're here because Dad and I need you. Like he said, hold on. Just a little longer." 

The man of metal gave a robotic sigh. "That's what I'm afraid of, kid. We haven't got more than a little longer to hold on." 

"Wait." 

The word came from Mento, and electrified them all. 

"Hit him again, Stranger," gasped Dayton. "It's coming...it's coming..." 

-S- 

At Darkseid's Fortress, two things happened in short succession. One of them was a twin series of white energy bullets, which protruded through what was left of the ceiling, zeroed in on the prison section and on Darkseid's chamber, and struck them. An energy discharge rocked both Kara's flat on their rears. 

After the flash faded, Power Girl grabbed Supergirl's arm and got her back to her feet. "K...", Power Girl started. 

Kara, tired as she was from the unending battles, leaped to her feet, shoved Power Girl in the other direction, and rocketed towards the cells. "Find Darkseid," she said, over her shoulder. "Go!" 

Power Girl went. 

The second thing that happened was the arrival of Superman, Dev-Em, Captain Action, and Action Boy, tearing apart what remained of the roof and the rooms above Darkseid's chamber. Kal and Dev had used their X-ray visions to pinpoint his location, and smashed their way to his darkened room. A few seconds beforehand, they wouldn't have been able to breach the force-field with all their combined strength. Now, four fists struck, and the door and wall around it crumbled. Power Girl got there an instant afterward. 

Light invaded the chamber of Darkseid. 

He looked up. 

For the first time they had ever seen, he smiled. 

"Get him," rapped Superman. "Now." 

Darkseid spoke the Anti-Life Equation. 

-S- 

With a cry of great effort, as if tearing a metal spike from a bed of concrete, Mento reared back in his chair and only a swift run and support by Robotman stopped him from falling backward to the floor. 

"We've got him," gasped Mento, sweat streaking his face and staining his armpits. "We've got him. Take him, Stranger. Take him away." 

The Phantom Stranger lay his hands on either side of Mento's helmet, stiffened, threw his own head back, and then slackened, breathing easier. 

Neither Ra-Man nor Lucian were speaking. They looked exhausted. 

Gar Logan finally spoke. "Stranger. Did we win?" 

The Stranger turned a grim face to the green youth. "We extracted Orion's mind. But the Equation did not come with it." 

"Then..." said Changeling, not daring to move. 

The Stranger said, "We have lost." 

-S- 

Supergirl grabbed the metal door by the bottom of the bars and tore it in half, flinging both sides away into the hall. She shot into the cell so quickly that both women inside barely had time to register her presence. 

"Supergirl," said Granny Goodness. 

"Shut up, you bitch!" Kara's hand came out, slapping the side of her face, barely holding her power back, and caromed Granny off the stone wall. The agent of Darkseid slumped to a sitting position, unconscious. 

Beautiful Dreamer was conscious, but still lying on the floor. Kara knelt on one knee, and, gently, took her by one wrist and drew her up. "D'reema," she said. "I promised I'd get you out." 

D'reema's face showed gratitude, sentiment, and a holding back of tears. She reached out, starting to embrace Kara. Then, in a second's time, her expression shifted to one of terror. 

"What's up?" asked Supergirl. "What's wrong?" 

"The Equation," she said. "Darkseid's spoken the Equation." 

-S- 

From the chamber of Darkseid, the power of Anti-Life began to radiate. 

None of the physical senses could perceive it, but in their souls, everyone in its path could sense its approach and overtaking. None could resist it. 

Superman, Dev-Em, Captain Action, Action Boy, and Power Girl were the first to feel it. The two Flashes and Joanie Quick, arriving an instant later, were the next victims. Its power spread throughout the fortress, reducing all who remained to a more pawnish state than they had been in beforehand. 

A moment of madness and terror went through Kal-El's mind, as little as he wanted to acknowledge it. This was a thing against which he had no power, no shield. He was facing Dev, seeing his expression, and knew his ally was going through the same thing. 

A second after that, he wondered what the problem had been. He felt calm, amazingly so. His muscles went slack. It was all he could do to stand there, looking at Darkseid. Even the Flashes and Joanie were stock-still. 

All they had to do was wait for the Dark Lord's first command. 

All they had to do was love Darkseid. And they did. 

-S- 

Supergirl felt the chilling power from not far away. "Oh, God," she said. "Oh, my God." 

"Kara," gasped D'reema. 

The Girl of Steel grasped her red cape, tore it loose from its stays, and wrapped the two of them up in it. She could think of nothing else to do at the moment. Perhaps it would shield them. Enough light penetrated for both of them to see each other's faces. 

"The Life Equation," said Kara. "Say it!" 

"I...can't..." The daughter of Izaya was almost hysterical. "It's...too far...within me..." 

Supergirl rarely used the power of super-hypnotism. It was more of a skill, developed by Superman's teaching and reinforced by her super-brain and super-vision. Now, she decided it was time to give it a try. Even as she felt the coldness going for her own mind, her own will, she fought it off with ever bit of her being, and gazed hard into D'reema's eyes with all her power. 

"D'reema," she said. "Your will is my will. You know the Life Equation. It's deep within you, but you can get to it. SAY IT! NOW!" 

And as she said the last words, the iciness of Anti-Life began to flood her brain. 

A moment of horror, then a moment of peace, then a moment of slackness. Darkseid...oh, Rao, he was beautiful... 

Someone far away, some woman, was speaking something indistinct. In a language that was old, perhaps, even to angels. Some words none could literally understand, but whose meaning all could grasp. The meaning of those words came to Kara like a hammer blow through ice, as they finally ended. 

FREEDOM. 

The Life Equation. 

With a shudder, the darkness left her soul. 

Two hands were under her armpits, supporting her. "Kara," said D'reema. "Kara. Are you all right?" 

Supergirl took a long breath and looked at the woman before her. After a moment, she asked, "You said it?" 

D'reema nodded. "Yes. With your help. I didn't even know what the words were, but I said it. Kara. We've won." 

Both women smiled at each other. Then Kara crushed D'reema to her in a hug. But only for a moment. At super-speed, Kara flew D'reema out of the open doorway, through one of the many holes in the roof, and out onto the grounds outside the shattered fortress. She set the girl down, not far from the advancing army of heroes. 

"You'll be safe here," she said. "As safe as you would be anywhere." 

"Wait," said D'reema. "Where are you going?" 

Kara said, "I'm going to find Darkseid. And kick his stone-plated butt." 

With that, she flew back into the fortress. 

-S- 

Medphyl, surrounded by the Honor Team and the Omega Men for a guard, touched down on the soil of Apokolips, not far from the battle Izaya had just left. Magicko lowered Strong Girl and Golden Blade to the ground with his magic, and Van Thorr, the Green Lantern of their world, remained on guard in the air. He was still a rookie, but he was learning fast. Primus, Kallista, Broot, Elu, Nimbus, Tigorr, and the Green Man descended on their own power. 

"Looks like the good guys could use a hand," said Strong Girl, striking out in the direction of the warring parties. 

"Hold, Jerusha," ordered Magicko. "Until the Lantern's job is done, we stay with him." 

"My job is done," pronounced Medphyl, setting the Swamp Thing on a sward of grass. "His is just begun." 

For a moment, the small homunculus who was the Green's chosen on Earth simply stood on the verdant blades, closing his red eyes, extending his consciousness. He connected with the Green of Apokolips. That force which had been duelling with the encroachments of Man and Machine even more than on Earth, and had been losing even more desperately. 

The Swamp Thing spoke to it. 

"Come to me, and I will lend you my hand," he said. "Come to me, and prepare for war. And victory." 

And then it all began. 

-S- 

Mr. Atom had the six members of the Marvel Family in his two hands, Captain Marvel, Mary Marvel, and Captain Marvel, Jr. in his left, Fat Marvel, Tall Marvel, and Hill Marvel in his right. He was trying to crush them. Actually, the giant robot wasn't making much of a go of the job. But while he held them, he was preventing them from intervening in the rest of the battle. 

Lady Quark, looking on, had decided to do something about it. In a trice, she rounded up Captain Atom, Firestorm, and Firehawk. "If anyone can do something about this titan," she said, "we can. On my signal, hit him with your power. Overload him." 

"Good strategy," rapped Captain Atom, and raised his silver-encased hands. 

"Sounds like a plan to me, lady," opined Firestorm, and followed suit. 

"I'm ready, too," proclaimed Firehawk. "Give us the signal." 

"NOW," said Lady Quark, raising her own hands. She blasted her nuclear power at Mr. Atom, knowing that, despite the robot's shielding, it would find a way into his interior. Captain Atom's atomic fire, Firestorm's and Firehawk's nuclear power blasts, all of them penetrated Mr. Atom's armor, all of them stoked the furnace-fury at his heart. 

The robot's strength increased. Mary Marvel groaned. "What are they doing? This thing'll crush us!" 

Captain Marvel struggled. "Not if...we can endure it, Mary. Just hang on." 

"We're hanging, Cap," grunted Junior. "Boy, are we hanging." 

The atomic warriors continued to pour power into Mr. Atom. To his credit, the robot giant began to understand what they were about to do and struck out at them, smashing the ground where they stood with his Marvel-clutching hands, blasting at them with his eye-rays. But the four of them had flight powers, and were able to dodge the robot's great blows. They kept up the barrage. 

Atom's metal skin began to turn red. "Maintain the bombardment," ordered Lady Quark. 

"Can we contain him when he blows?" asked Firestorm. 

"We'd better," noted Captain Atom, still pouring fourth a double-stream of nuclear power from his hands. 

The Metal Men observed the conflict—after all, it was hard to miss a thirty-foot-tall robot—and stretched themselves onto the scene. Tina pointed at the giant from Earth-S. "Iron, Lead," she said. "We're gonna need a container, and just at the right moment." 

"Okay, Tina," said Iron to the platinum robot. "But I hope we'll be fast enough to do it." 

"If you will, Iron, uhhh, I will," promised Lead. 

"And I'll plate the both of you, I promise," offered Tin. 

Mercury looked on the little tin robot with disdain. "Like you could be a great help." 

Gold grabbed Mercury by the arm, almost turning it into globules. "And if you can't be of any more help than that, Mr. Metal That's a Liquid At Room Temperature, I suggest you keep your mouth shut." 

Mr. Atom's body glowed with white heat. He began to shiver, like a human with ague. Lady Quark said, "One more blast, and then back away. He's about to–" 

They didn't have time. Instantly, Lead formed himself into a dome covering Mr. Atom, Iron recast himself into a dome covering Lead, and, true to his word, Tin formed a plating over both of them. In the end, even Tina, Gold, and Mercury followed suit. Firestorm and Firehawk used their matter-restructuring powers to change the air about the Metal Men into a steel sheathing, reinforcing them. 

The blast cracked the whole thing and made the Firetwins busy turning radioactive leakage into dandelion fluff and Lady Quark and Captain Atom busy taking the atomic heat into their bodies. It was deafening. 

A few moments after that, six individual tunnels punched up trails of dirt from beneath the fractured metal dome, and the Marvel Family members poked their heads up out of the sand. "Thanks, very much," said Captain Marvel to the nuclear foursome. 

"You are welcome, Captain," said Lady Quark. "But we need to aid the Metal Men, and to decontaminate you, before you get back into the fight." 

Firestorm restored the steel sheathing to air and beheld the wrecked Metal Men within it, along with the shattered components of Mr. Atom, still radioactive and steaming. Firehawk came up beside him. "Can we put them back together again?" 

"I think so," said Firestorm. "Our restructuring powers ought to be able to do it. They're hotter than U-235 now, and so are the Marvels." 

"The quicker we get this done, the quicker they can get back in the fight," said Captain Atom. "What happened to that bald nut case in the green robe, anyway?" 

"Sabbac?" Firestorm pointed to a spot not far off, where the sorceror lay unconscious and bound. "Isis and Ibis happened to him." 

"Looks like they happened pretty hard," opined Firehawk. "What about that guy in the toga?" 

"Oggar?" Firestorm said. "I think that's what they called him." 

"The last I saw, one of our guys was cleaning his clock," said Captain Atom. "The Son of Vulcan. I think he's been taken care of." 

Lady Quark favored them with a scowl. "Enough talk," she said. "Get to work." 

-S- 

Supergirl had sent her super-vision ahead of her, for caution's sake. The images she saw arrived in her brain only a fraction of a second before her body arrived on the scene of Darkseid's den. But it was time enough to be effective. 

Dev, Kal, Captain Action, Action Boy, the two Flashes, and Joanie Swift were lying on the floor of the chamber as if they were dead, and Darkseid's eyes were blazing red. 

He'd gotten them. He'd nailed them with his Omega Effect. Even the super-speedsters among them, he'd hit. 

Darkseid had enough time to hear a scream of terrible rage before a freight train in blue, yellow, and red hit him and smashed him into a wall, and halfway through it. 

For a moment, she flashed back to the time she'd fought Darkseid before, a thousand years in the future. The bastard had grabbed her by the head and tried to crush her skull. He'd had the strength enough to do it, too, had he not been interrupted. 

There was no way she could gauge his strength now. But there was no time to worry about it. She grabbed Darkseid by the tunic, blasted her heat-vision full-force into his radiant eyes, and was rewarded with a cry of pain even the Lord of Apokolips couldn't suppress. 

Then she hauled off and smashed him across the room. 

-S- 

The Swamp Thing had made contact with the Green and gained its cooperation. That was all that was necessary. 

Outward from the place where he stood, a rush of vegetation, roots, grass, trees, plants native to the Apokoliptic soil when they could reach from that soil to the sun, burst outward in an infinite number of rays. Even over the areas covered by sand, they sprang across it, overlay it, made it verdant again. 

The forces of New Genesis and Apokolips had time to notice and turn towards the dull rumble before it engulfed them. Their weaponry was overgrown, penetrated, deactivated by roots. The vegetation grew about their feet and forced them to pull their lower limbs up, ripping roots with it. They aimed blasters, and found flowers growing from the muzzles. 

After a couple of minutes, about the only thing they could do was fling themselves at the guys on the other side and have a punch-up. So they did. 

Medphyl, looking upon it, reached for another magnitude of awe. "By the power of O," he said. "This is the stuff of legend. As in my world's creation." 

Primus said, "Maybe we'd better take to the air, in case that stuff starts coming for us." 

By the time he had the last words out, the green onslaught had reached their area, hemming them in with tall grass and roots, but leaving a large circle bare where they stood. 

"Thoughtful of him," remarked Tigorr. "What do we do now?" 

"Wait," said Magicko. "For the end of the war." 

-S- 

Supergirl was headed in for what she thought was the clincher when Darkseid, shielding his wounded eyes with one arm, raised his right hand and loosed a blast of deadly force at her. It staggered her, sending her crashing through another room. The sanctuary of Darkseid was now a shambles of ruin and paralyzed bodies. 

Kara hurt. 

Darkseid seared her again with his Omega power, and she screamed. 

He advanced on her. "Woman," he said. "I perceived what you did. You shielded D'reema from my power. You gave her time to speak the Life Equation. Because of you—because of you—the power of Anti-Life is lost to me forever. Perhaps. For that, there must be recompense. For that, there must be death." 

"I'll settle for yours," said Kara, and, quicker than Darkseid could react, she gave him a red-booted foot in the face. He tumbled backwards. 

Supergirl dragged herself to her feet. Darkseid's quasi-mystic energy was enough to hurt even a Kryptonian. Even enough to kill. That much she knew, from the state Dev, Kal, and the others were in. 

On the other hand, the strength of a Kryptonian was more than enough to hurt Darkseid. He didn't have the power that he had when she'd faced him with the Legion. That was reassuring. 

She sped towards him again, ducking under the twin eye-blasts that came from him, and rocked his world with an uppercut that would have taken off the top of a mountain. To his credit, Darkseid was tough enough to take it, but went off his pins again. She grabbed him bodily, turned him face-down to the floor, and hammerlocked his arm. He didn't make a sound, and he was resisting. She torqued up the pressure until she felt the bones in his arm were getting near breakage. 

"You may not be making any noise yet, but I know you're feeling it," she grated. "Bring Kal and my friends back to life. Or breaking this arm is just the start." 

Darkseid sent a surge of Omega power through his body and surrounded Kara with an aura of sparking blackness. She cried out, ratcheted her head back, closed her eyes against the pain. Her trembling hands managed to hold onto his arm, but that was all she could do. 

"Underestimation," said Darkseid. "The fatal mistake of a military amateur." With great effort, he pushed himself up, freed his arm from Supergirl, and smashed her hard against the side of her face. It left a bleeding bruise. She gasped in pain. 

"I can radiate the Omega power from any or all parts of my body," Darkseid informed her, grabbing her chin in a crushing grip. "But to release it in rays, I rely upon my eyes." They began to smoulder with power again. The deadly power that could displace or disintegrate any matter he targeted. 

She was about to bring her hands up for a chest strike when, of a sudden, a white-clad form barrelled in through the ceiling, struck Darkseid, tore him away from her, and smashed him into the next room. 

Kara dazedly looked on and registered the aspect of the new arrival. "Lightray," she muttered, and pulled herself upward. 

Darkseid smashed his foe across the face with a savage backhand. Lightray tried to resist, sent several super-speed blows into his foe's stony face, and hurt him. A short burst of Omega Effect from Darkseid's eyes into his face, and Lightray was screaming, dropping away from him, writhing on the floor. 

The Lord of Apokolips looked in Kara's direction. "Well? Aren't you going to stop me?" 

For answer, Supergirl began whirling in place, and, a second later, had drilled into the ground. 

Even Darkseid had limits to reaction time. Before he could manage a countermove, Supergirl burst up from the floor and ground below him, striking upward. He tried to shield himself with his Omega power, but enough of the blow got through to make him feel as though he had stepped in front of a maul. 

Kara followed up with blow after blow. She could feel a lot of the impact blunting on his force-shield, but that only inspired her to up the delivery power. She raked his shield with heat-vision, pinned him to the floor by sitting on him, smashed away at his head and chest, slapped away his arms when he tried to raise them. And as she fought, she spoke. 

"I've been through hell and a half in this last week. I've fought Blackstarr, Eclipso, the Zoners, Kralik, the Golem, and I'm probably leaving some out. I almost got zombified because of you. Now you've hurt the man I love, and my cousin, and my friends. I didn't want to do this. I didn't want to do any of it. I hate fighting. But I promise you, Darkseid, if you don't restore them and surrender, you're never getting up from this floor in one piece. I swear it!" 

Darkseid was bleeding from his nose and mouth. She couldn't be certain, but she believed he had cracked ribs in the bargain. She was getting through to him, and, Rao help her, she was enjoying it. 

She'd tried to keep out of the way of his Omega Effect beams, but, finally, it just wasn't possible. The terrible beams from his eyes lanced out, caught her in the eyes, and dealt out blindness and pain. Supergirl screamed. 

Another blast sent her backwards, knocking her off Darkseid's body. She tried to focus, to use her super-hearing to pinpoint him, but the burning pain was filling her brain and corpus. It was worse than a Kryptonite exposure. 

Darkseid was standing before her again. A third time, the rays from his eyes struck her. This time, they were tearing her apart. The cohesion of her atomic structure was dissolving. Her body, despite its Kryptonian invulnerability, would be scattered to the wind. 

She would die, and Kal, Dev, young Kal, and the others would die after her. 

Kara struggled to bring herself up, to land a last blow that would take Darkseid's life. She hated herself for doing it, but if she was to die, she would take the Dark Lord down with her. She willed her body to hold together just long enough, for her strength to sustain itself sufficiently, for the blow to be struck. She had to. 

Darkseid loosed another surge of power and she knew she could not. 

"This has taken long enough," Darkseid complained. "Will you not simply die?" 

Then, from within, from without, from everywhere at once, the sound of a thunderous boom. 

In her present state, she could barely see. But she was able to make out a glowing circle that had materialized in the room. There were also two beings in that circle, one in gleaming armor, the other in a red uniform and a grey helmet. The man in red had his hand raised. Darkseid was turning towards him in astonishment, but it was too late. 

"No, father," said Orion. "You will." 

With that, the son of Darkseid unleashed a bolt of blinding white energy from his hand. The force that he had never dared to use against his father before today, the power that sidestepped both Alpha and Omega forces and could annihilate the bearers of both. 

The Astro-Force. 

Darkseid tried to unleash a blast of Omega Effect at his son, but it struck the wall of whitness, was stopped, and was turned back upon him. Orion's blast reached him all too quickly. There was not even enough time for him to cry out. It seared, it dissolved, it destroyed. There was an indescribable sound and flash and smoke and a smell of something truly loathsome. Izaya looked on and controlled his revulsion. 

Orion simply looked on in grim approval. 

When it was done, all that remained of Darkseid's body was a desiccated, half-burned-away husk. 

Supergirl saw it, felt her body separating, and was gratified, even in death. 

Izaya's own hand came up and released multiple Alpha Bullets. 

"Stand with me in this, my son," said Izaya. "This may take all my energy." 

"What I have to give is yours, second father," said Orion, and lay his hands upon Izaya's helmet, sharing the power of the Celestials. 

Kara felt the energy of the white strike her, scatter throughout her disintegrating form, negating the power of Darkseid. For a moment, she felt as though the convergence of the two forces would tear her apart more quickly than the Omega Effect itself would. 

Then, in another instant, the lattice of attraction that held the atoms of her body together was restructured. Alpha Bullet countered Omega Effect. The pain receded, faded, was gone. Her sense of touch returned. She fell to the floor on her side, exhausted. 

And as she lay there, she saw Kal, Dev, Power Girl, Superboy, Captain Action, Action Boy, the Flashes, Joanie Quick, and Lightray recovering. They were stirring, coming back to life, arising from the floor. That was fine for them. For her part, she'd be content to lie on it a while longer. 

Izaya was standing over her, extending a hand. "You have performed a great deed," he said. "We extend thanks on behalf of all New Genesis, and on my behalf as well." 

"Thank you," she said, and took his hand just before she passed out. 

-S- 

Over the world of Apokolips, the Swamp Thing's assault had, in lack of a better phrase, borne fruit. The war machines of both sides were stopped by encroaching vegetation. The airborne machines of destruction remained, but even that conflict was winding down. Above, the Green Lantern Corps was finally getting the upper hand on the Weaponers of Qward, and were pushing them backward. 

Freed of the counterforce of super-villains, the heroes of the Earths deployed quickly over Apokolips, helped by those with teleport capacities. The magical and scientific might of Dr. Fate, Dr. Mist, Amethyst, Ibis, Isis, Johnny Thunder's Thunderbolt, Green Lantern of Earth-2, Starman, and Zatanna were instrumental in bringing down many of the air-based warcraft and para-demons. But just as important were the heavy hitter heroes, including the Marvel Family, the Wonder Women, the Martian trio, and the recovering Superman, Dev-Em, Captain Action, and Action Boy. The Marvels were zeroed out by the Weaponers who hurled thunderbolts at them, but the pink-hued servant of Johnny Thunder restored their powers after the hits and shielded them from further strikes. Also, many of the Apokolips crowd found that heroes such as Nuklon, the Hourmen, Captain Atom, Lady Quark, Geo-Force, and even those below their capacity such as Batman and his allies weren't to be taken lightly. 

But most importantly, Izaya and Orion returned to the fray, rallying their troops, bringing with them the likes of Mr. Miracle, Barda, the Female Furies, Bug, Jezebelle, Lightray, and Metron. With them, at the battlefields, came a new conscript: the female Dr. Light, Kimiyo Hoshi. Her job was to project a hologram of Darkseid's body above the area, with the legend DARKSEID IS DEAD below it. She didn't like it a bit. But she agreed that it was a necessity, to demoralize the troops of Apokolips. Gravi-guards, dog cavalry, Granny's crack cadets, and the line soldiers fell one by one, or surrendered. 

It took over 24 hours. But at the end of that time, Apokolips was finally conquered. 

In fact, it was more than conquered. The Green had virtually taken back the planet. True, the deadly pits that furnished the planet's power were still radioactive and off-limits to the plant growth. But the paving material had been cracked and shattered by the shoots that came up through it, the machinery of evil had been clogged by the innumerable roots that immobilized it, and, from above, Apokolips now looked like a fairly verdant world. 

At the end of it all, Izaya and Orion boom-tubed back into Darkseid's capital, assembled the generals still alive, and forced them to sign surrender papers. 

After the signing, Orion lay hands on his adopted son, with Beautiful Dreamer, Mr. Miracle, and Barda also present. "This world needs a king. There is none so qualified as yourself. Orion, will you accept the burden? Will you rule, as my ally, over the world of Apokolips?" 

The red-clad man, whose face still showed the scars of repair surgery, took his time about answering. 

"You and your allies rescued my body and mind from the clutches of my father. My mind was restored to my body in time for me to destroy my father...and to save others, such as Lightray and Superman. But my answer, Highfather, must be no. I will not rule over the world of Apokolips. 

"I will, however, rule over a world with a new name, one more appropriate to its present state. I will agree to be the king of Third Genesis." 

And so it was. But there was something more than that. First, D'reema embraced Scott Free with a good deal of tears, reunited with her brother after more years than either wanted to remember. She also saved a hug for Big Barda, her sister-in-law. 

But after that, she went to Orion, who had turned away, and insisted on making him face her. D'reema looked upon his fearsome countenance, accented by the horrific scars of Desaad's handiwork, and trembled as she held up her hand. 

"We both suffered in this," she said. "You more greatly than I. But we came through it. Second brother, I would...I would hold your hand." 

Orion said, "Only sister, I would hold more than that," and embraced her strongly and gently at the same time. D'reema said nothing, but hugged him back. All the barriers were not yet breached, but it was a good start. 

Not long afterward, Izaya boom-tubed back to his palace on New Genesis, entered, and, after some protocol, had Tigra brought to him. She bowed. He grasped her shoulders and raised her upright. 

"Your son lives, Tigra," said Izaya, and noted the tears that came to her eyes as he said it. "I will take you to him forthwith. But there is one thing I would do first." 

"And...that thing is, milord?" 

He took her hand. "It has been many years since I have had a queen. More ties between the thrones of New Genesis and Apokolips would help considerably, in our present time. But there is more than that." He looked at her intently. "Tigra, duchess of Apokolips, will you consent to be my wife?" 

She took all of three seconds to decide. The announcement of the impending wedding was made within the hour. It was, indeed, a day for wonders and miracles. 

Then she was reunited with Orion, as Oberon was reunited with Scott and Barda. The little man looked on the mother and son reunion from across the room and remarked, "Looks like everybody gets a happy ending today, huh, Scott?" 

"Well...almost, Obie," confessed Mr. Miracle, who had his mask off for the moment. 

Oberon looked up at his friend and partner. "Whattya mean, Scotty? Don't we have engagements, obligations, fer cryin' out loud, dates ta play? Don't we still have a show? The Greatest Escape Act on Earth?" 

"Regrettably, Oberon...we do not," Barda said, as sympathetically as she could. 

The small man from Earth was drop-jawed. 

Scott said, "We're staying on New Genesis. There's more for us here than there ever was on Earth. Besides, Orion's probably going to need some help, especially in keeping Kalibak and a bunch of those guys locked up. And who's better to design a prison that's darned well escape-proof than me?" 

Barda picked Oberon up and kissed him on the cheek. "We'll miss you, Oberon. Believe me, we will." 

"Nope, Barda, I don't think you will." 

She gave him a curious look. 

"If you've got an extra room somewhere in these digs...well, maybe I can move my stuff in. Ain't no use in breakin' up our act this late in the game. I don't know what your immigration policy is, but..." 

"Say no more, Obie," smiled Mr. Miracle. "You've got a place to stay. With us." 

"Well," said Barda, thoughfully. "I guess we do get a happy ending, after all." 

Still in her arms, Oberon looked over her shoulder at a four-foot-nine serving girl, passing by with a trayful of covered plates. "Baby, you don't know the half of it," he said. 

-S- 

J'onn J'onzz had called a meeting of his old Justice League friends, including Batman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Firestorm, Zatanna, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, the Red Tornado, the Elongated Man, Steel, and Vixen, and spoke to them with J'en R'ass and his brother T'omm on either side of him. 

"The battle is done," he said, "and so is my sojourn on Earth. My homeworld is said to need a ruler that all factions can accept. T'omm and J'en here came for me, and I shall return with them. Thus, I must resign my membership in the Justice League of America. But not without regrets. The League saved me from Commander Blanx when he first came to your world, gave me...something of which I could be part. Not disguised as an Earthman, but as myself. For that...and much else besides...I will always be grateful. 

"One more announcement must be made." The Martian's fingers were now entwined with J'en's. "J'en and I have agreed to be married. The ceremony will be held within the month on Mars II." 

"Way to go, Big Green!" called Firestorm, pumping his fist in the air. J'en smiled, and some of the heroes laughed before Batman shot the kid a stern look. 

"Any of you who can manage the journey will be welcome," J'onn continued. "When you next hear from Hawkman, convey the same invitation to him and Shayera. The same for Superman and Supergirl. We must leave very soon. And Steel, if you or Vixen ever see Vibe or Gypsy again, please deliver the news for me." 

"Will do, J'onn," said Steel. "Even if they don't join Team Metropolis." 

Everyone present gave their individual congratulations to J'onn and J'en and shook T'omm's hand as well. The last to pay his respects was the Red Tornado, who gave the Martian's hand a solemn shake. In a voice modulated lowly, the android said, "Perhaps, J'onn, if there is a chance for you to find love, there is one for me, somehow, as well." 

"Perhaps there is, my friend," said J'onn. "Perhaps there is, at that." 

-S- 

On Earth-S some days afterward, three heroes stood in a deserted subway tunnel and one of them lit a brazier. The figure of an ancient wizard materialized on a stone throne. 

Shazam looked out at the threesome whom he had empowered, and didn't see a sympathetic face among them. 

"Great sir," said Captain Marvel, "we must talk." 

"First, you must be congratulated," said Shazam. "The Multiverse had been saved from tyranny. One of the greatest evils extant in five dimensions and more has been defeated. This is a time for celebration, my children." 

"It might be, great sir, if you hadn't done what you did," said Mary, quietly. 

Shazam looked hurt. 

Captain Marvel, Jr. was next to speak. "We want to know, sir, why you altered our memories while we were in the Suspendium. We want to know why you kept Mary and I from falling in love." 

He answered, "It was necessary to preserve the guardianship of the universe. It was for the greater good, my children." 

"But it was done without our consent," said Mary. "Without even our knowledge." 

Shazam looked at his firstmade son, Captain Marvel, and saw a bit of sympathy. But the World's Mightiest Mortal stood there with his arms crossed upon his chest, and the old wizard knew that nothing less than a full explanation would do. 

"If you were allowed to love, you would ask for your aging factor to be restored," said Shazam. "That would mean that, prematurely, others would needs be chosen to take your place. Or that your places would remain unfulfilled for years, perhaps centuries. It was because of that, that I altered your thoughts." 

Captain Marvel said, "Could you have gotten us out of the Suspendium? When we were stuck in it for all those years?" 

"If there had been need of you, perhaps I could have," he said. "But, despite the wars and injustices rampant on your world, there was little that truly needed superhuman attention at that time. There was also no one to light the brazier and bring me back. In a sense, my son, we were both trapped." 

Marvel nodded, slightly. "So you weren't entirely unselfish." 

"My son," said Shazam, "no man, not even a wizard, ever truly is." 

After a moment, Captain Marvel, Jr. said, "Great sir, we seek a boon from you." 

Mary said, "We want to be able to age once again. And we want to marry. We ask this, great sir, in recompense for what was done to our minds. Can you do this for us?" 

"You would have me do this, knowing that it will bring you to Death's door within a generation? That you will no longer live hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years, but only the normal span of a human being?" 

"That's the deal we got when we were born," said Junior. "We'd like to go back to it." 

Finally, Shazam said, "Very well, then. Approach me." 

The two of them did so. Captain Marvel looked on. Shazam lay one ghostly hand apiece on their heads. There was no visible discharge of power. But both Junior and Mary felt something added to their beings again, something which had been missing or suppressed for over forty years. 

Both of them felt the clock ticking anew. They were grateful. The two of them arose, and, silently, hugged very hard. Shazam looked up at Captain Marvel. 

The red-clad hero looked back at him and shook his head "no". 

Shazam relaxed somewhat. At least for the next millenium, there probably would be a hero with the powers of the gods. 

"Great sir, thank you very much," said Junior, facing Shazam while still holding Mary. "For everything you've done. For the powers, for helping Cap save my life. But most of all, for bringing Mary and I together. Thank you, indeed." 

"Indeed," echoed Shazam. "Since this be your choice, when you both be physically suited for marriage, may your loins be fruitful. The blessings of the Elders be upon your children. And so long as you choose to retain your powers..." 

"We'll retain them for a long time, great sir," said Mary. "And even though we don't like what you did to us, we will still remain your friends." 

The old man looked somewhat more assured. 

"The twilight of my life, even as a mage and shade, draws nigh," he said. "The Hero is not the last transformation for the Chosen One. There will come a time when the Wizard must take his place. When that time comes, I hope one of you will be there to take my place. I sincerely hope that." 

Captain Marvel said, "Great sir, I'll think about it. But thank you for what you have done for Junior and Mary. And thank you even more, for having the courage to admit what you have done." 

Shazam nodded. "Please give my regards to Isis, as well. And now, if you would." 

Captain Marvel's hand reached out and stanched the fire in the brazier. The shade of Shazam faded from the stone throne. 

With Mary and Junior still embracing, he flew out of the subway tunnel, over the skies of Fawcett City, and to a certain apartment in a certain building. Actually, he hovered outside the window and tapped on the pane. A woman parted the curtains, gaped out at him, and opened the window. 

"What on Earth are you doing here?" she said. 

"Beautia," said Captain Marvel, "are you doing anything tonight?" 

-S- 

Supergirl woke up to feel Dev's arms around her and see his face not far from hers. This, she thought, was becoming a cliche. But she didn't mind it at all, and hugged him back. 

"Dev," she said. "Then everything's finished?" 

"Just about, love," he said. "I'll call in the Kals and Kara Two if you want. They want to see you." 

"Oh, just wait a few minutes, would you?" she asked, running her hands over his shoulder blades, spine, and everything else she could reach. "It's been a long time since we've..." 

"Yeah," he said. "But in the interests of protocol, I think we should see them first. Because if we start..." 

"...We won't get finished for a long time." 

"You got it." 

She kissed him hard and nuzzled him. "I'm so glad you all made it through. If the pain was anything like what I experienced..." 

"Don't say it. Don't even think about it. Okay?" 

"Okay." She sighed. "I want some r and r after this. I am soooo tired of saving the universe." 

He looked at her with some annoyance. "You've gotten so jaded that you don't even appreciate what you just did? What we just did?" 

Kara paused. "I'm sorry, Dev. It's just...something of that magnitude...it's hard to get my mind around it. I can't deal with the whole, only the part I was involved in." 

"Understood. But just remember, there's five universes at least that have free will and are free of Darkseid because of what we did. Especially you, and Orion, and Highfather. All the people we know, all the ones we will know. The ones we love, the ones we hate, the ones we'll never know. They're free because of what we did." 

"I know. Again, Dev, damn it, I'm sorry. I do know what we all did. But...right now, I just want to be with you, and not have to fight." 

He stroked her back. "Not for a long time, anyway, Kara. Not as long as I can help it. And right now, I think I can." 

"Darn it, you keep that up and we won't be able to see them for over an hour. Dev. Tell me just what happened." 

"You mean, in there?" 

"Yeah." 

He stiffened somewhat, and looked away from her. "Really want to know." 

"Not if it hurts too much to tell, right now." 

"Oh, it hurts, all right." He paused, released her, and sat on the edge of the bed with his hands in his lap. "Okay, here's what I remember. We all smashed in there, into Darkseid's bedroom or whatever it was, El, Kara Two, Kid El, the two Action chaps, and the Flash Trio. You'd have thought that among the batch of us, there would have been somebody fast enough to have dropped him before he said the word. But we weren't." 

Kara shivered. 

"It must've just been one word. Or he must've been talking very fast. Whatever he said, I don't remember it...I don't think I'm supposed to remember it. All I know is that every one of us froze in our tracks. In our souls. Scared the hell out of me, and I'm not ashamed to say it. For a second there, I felt like I'd been damned. Literally. Then I was looking at that grey-faced geezer, and I swear, it felt like..." 

"Dev..." 

"...it felt like I was in love with him. That I'd do everything for him. That I didn't have to do any thinking anymore, that he'd do it...do it all for me. That nothing had to be done but what he said, what he wanted. That his will was like the Great Mainspring of the Universe. It was more than that, but, Sheol, Kara, it's like you said...there's only so much you can get your mind around. 

"Then it lifted. Like coming up from the bottom of a sea bed when you're diving, the way I used to back home. Like you're depressurizing, and you don't want to do it too fast or you get oxygen bubbles in your blood. If we'd have been any better, maybe we could have attacked him when it started letting up. But we didn't have that kind of time, or maybe that kind of strength. All I knew was what I saw. I saw that beggar's eyes glowing red. Then I felt like I was being taken apart." 

"Rao, I know, Dev. I felt the same thing." 

"He didn't have time to give us too hard a blast, or I don't think I'd be here right now. No, I know I wouldn't. All I know is that it hurt worse than just about anything I've experienced. I think I passed out. Either that, or the old brain just won't tell me what I went through. I'm grateful for that. I don't remember a thing after that until I felt something hitting me, putting me back together again. Waking up. Seeing all the blokes and shielas, and you, and Orion and Izaya too. And what was left of Darkseid." 

Kara nodded. She didn't like to think about Darkseid's corpse. It had not been a pretty thing to look at. 

"You passed out about the time I woke up. Wanted to stay with you, but El and Izaya said they needed all hands on. So I just made him Boom Tube us to New Genesis, found you a place to sleep here, and went back the same way I came. Then I went out with the lads and we won the war." 

"You did?" 

"We did." 

"Very good." She hugged him again. "Are we on New Genesis now?" 

"Yup. Orion's in charge on Apokolips. They're calling it Third Genesis now. You've been asleep more than a day, and you deserved it." 

"If this trend keeps up, the next time we save the universe I'll go into hibernation for a year." 

"Oh, I'll find a way of waking you up." 

"You'd better let the others in, or we'll be waking each other up for a long time." 

"Counting on it later." He got up, went to the door, and palmed it open. "All right, boys and girl, time for an audience with Her Highness if you want it." 

Superman, Superboy, and Power Girl entered the room. 

After a look at her, Power Girl said, "Better not keep her too long, boys. I have a feeling that five is rapidly going to become a crowd." 

-S- 

Afterward, lying behind him in a spoon position on her side, Kara put her arms gently about Dev's neck from behind. "Dev. Marry me?" 

"Hmm?" 

"I want to marry you, Devian. I want you to marry me." 

"Oh, Sheol, Kara, I thought we'd been through that before." 

"We have. Doesn't matter. I want you for my husband, Dev. I want to have your children. I want a ring and rice and a white dress on Earth and the sun ceremony on Rokyn. I want to be your wife." 

"That's what you want." 

"Yeah." 

"That's really what you want." 

"How many times do I have to tell you? Frab it, Dev, don't you know I love you?" 

"Yes. About as much as I know I love you." 

"So what's stopping us?" 

He hesitated. "All the things in between. My job in the 30th. Your life in the 20th. We haven't got that sorted out. We may never get it all sorted out. 

She sat up, naked, in bed. "Does any couple ever get everything sorted out? Doesn't everybody have to make some allowances, Dev? I don't care what we've got to do. I want to be your wife." 

"Oh, damn." 

"Don't you want me?" 

"You know I do. And as soon as we say anything about it, El will shove me into the event horizon of a white dwarf star." 

"No, he won't. He even likes you now. And a lot of that is because he knows that you're good for me, and I'm...well...good for you. Besides, if he did, I'd kick him where it hurts." 

He smiled. "You'd do that for me." 

"I would." 

Dev sighed. "All right. Can we make this kind of a deal, Kara?" 

"What kind of deal?" 

"Let's try it a month in each other's eras. It's only been a couple of weeks. Give it a month more, without us saving planets or fighting the Fatal Five, and see if we can make it. As a bichronal relationship, or in my time for good." 

"Or in mine," she said. 

Dev didn't say anything. 

"What happens after that?" Kara prodded him. 

"Then, if we still feel the same way we do tonight...I guess I'll spring for a ring." 

She plastered herself all over him. "If we only feel the same way we do tonight, I won't be doing my job. Come here, Dev." 

"Kara." 

"Shut up, Dev, and let me do the driving." 

-S- 

Before the lot of them could go home, they were treated to a mass honors ceremony in the plaza of New Genesis's capital city. Izaya had returned to his Highfather robes, and had honored first the dead warriors of his world, then those who were wounded and yet living, then those who had escaped injury and yet fought. Among these were the Forever People, Mr. Miracle, Lightray, Metron, Bug, and Jezebelle. From the way the last two were acting as they sat together, Kara guessed they'd be putting out the invitations before long. 

Finally, Izaya honored the heroes of the five Earths, and his attendants distributed medals to Superman, Captain Atom, Uncle Sam, Captain Marvel, and Doctor Fate, to be given to the individual heroes when they all returned to their homeworlds. The assemblage gave them as big a cheer as they had for the war vets, and Izaya expressed his personal gratitude. 

As the ceremony finished, D'reema sought out Supergirl and clasped her hand. "Thank you for everything you did, Kara. Sincerely." 

"Me? Hey, you were the one who spoke the Life Equation." Kara grinned. "Don't sell yourself short, sister."   


"Oh, I know that. But without your protection, and your mind-probe, I might not have been able to dredge it up. Now, I cannot even remember what it was I said. But I thank you again, Kara. Because of what you did, the war is over, and we are free. All of us." 

Supergirl stiffened a bit, remembering the tyrannies to be found on Earth, and finally said, "To a degree." 

"Yes," said D'reema. "Inasmuch as we allow ourselves to be." She paused, and then said, "I wish you the best of happiness with your man." 

"Thank you," she said. "What about you? Have you found someone?" 

"I believe so," she said. "Moonrider and I have been living together for some time. Now that we are back in the court of Highfather, he wishes to ask for my hand. I am hoping for a double wedding with Father and Tigra. We'll have to work fast, but I don't think he'll object." 

The Girl of Steel smiled. "Congrats, honey. Just hope it doesn't take an Infinity Man to keep you together." 

"You are invited to the wedding, if and when we manage it." 

"Won't make any promises, but if time and life permits, maybe. What about Orion?" 

"Orion? Oh, we're a bit closer now than we were before. He still frightens me a bit, but that will always be. I know he is grateful that I accept him more. I can..." She lowered her voice. "I can never accept him as a brother. But I am working on accepting him as a friend." 

Kara nodded. "That's not what I was asking about, though. Has he found somebody to love?" 

D'reema shook her head. "No. Perhaps he never will. But there is always tomorrow. Right now he is busy with the reformation of Third Genesis, with the imprisonment of Kalibak and some others, as you know, and with the contingent of your...'villains'...who have chosen to stay and try to make lives for themselves on that world." 

"I know," said Supergirl. Some of the super-villains had been taken by the Green Lanterns back to their prison planet. Others would be remanded back to jail on the Earths. Still others were stuck in that sideral dimension until it was decided just what to do with them. Irregardless, things were going to be different on their worlds. An era had passed. 

Kal had even spoken about having words with Luthor. When pressed for exactly what he meant, he didn't say. 

"But there are many women on his world and ours, and he may yet find love. At least, that is what I hope the Source will grant him." 

"Can you show me to him? I'd like to talk with him in private." 

"Of course," said D'reema. "For you, anything." 

And so it was that Supergirl found herself standing before Orion in a private chamber not long afterward. He was wearing the more normal face that his Mother Box constructed for him. Even so, it couldn't hide all the scars. But they looked better than they had the last time Kara had seen him. 

"The blessings of the Source upon you for what you have done for our world," said Orion. 

"And the blessings of Rao on you for saving my life," she answered. "I've got something to tell you, Orion. Something important." 

He waited. 

She took a breath, then said, "I don't think Darkseid is dead." 

He nodded. "I expected as much." 

She looked on him in astonishment. "You did? How?" 

Orion leaned against a wall, contemplatively. "Years ago, when I was a young god, the Source delivered a prophecy to us. It said that the last battle between my father and I would be fought in the streets of Armagetto. We fought in his palace. We did not fulfill the prophecy." 

"But couldn't it be wrong?" 

"Was it wrong when it told us of the two shields? The ones with the S-mark within them?" 

"No," she said. "I guess not." 

"Darkseid has returned from death before," Orion continued. "He did that when we fought beside the League of Justice and the Society of Justice against him. I have no doubt that he could do such again. I have not spoken to Highfather of this. But for my part, I plan to remain vigilant." 

Supergirl hesitated. "Orion. I'm not supposed to speak of the future to anyone. But in your case, I think it's time to make an exception. You swear not to reveal what I'm telling you to anyone else?" 

He looked at her intently. "I do swear. Say on." 

"All right. A thousand years from now, when Kal, that is, Superman, only he was Superboy then...this is hard to tell. What it amounts to is this: a thousand years from now, I battled Darkseid." 

Orion was silent. 

"He almost killed me. He was much more powerful than when I fought him awhile ago. He didn't use the Anti-Life Equation, but he almost conquered the universe another way. I can't tell you any more than that. I don't know if he took a time-trip before we met him this last time and came back, or if he's somehow gone to the 30th Century after this battle, or if he's just going to live for a thousand more years. But we did fight him. We won, too. Or we will win. That's all I can tell you." 

Orion paused a long moment. "If anyone could find a way of living that long in secret, my father could." 

Kara nodded. "That's what I wanted to tell you. Remember, not a word of this to anyone. Even Highfather or Superman." 

"Your word is safe with me," he said. "And I thank you for it. Is there anything else you wish to tell me?" 

She looked at him and thought about how Orion and Highfather, or two duplicates of them, had also fought beside the Legion of Super-Heroes in that encounter. 

"Only that I hope you find yourself a wife," she said, and put out her hand for a goodbye shake. 

-S- 

Brainiac said, "It is finished. Darkseid is defeated." 

Kral noted that Brainiac did not say "destroyed." "Well, then," he said, "I guess our little partnership is ended." 

There was a long bit of silence. 

"It would be in our mutual best interest to go our own ways now," Kral said. The Vanguard and the Friends of Superman stood at the ready, no matter what went down. 

"This unit posits that such is an acceptible alternative," Brainiac replied. "If the life units leave within 15.12 standard galactic minutes, the truce will be honored." 

"Doesn't give us much time," said Vartox, "but I imagine we can manage it." 

"Thanks for the help," said Marvel Maid. "I hope we never see you again." 

"If we do, it won't be more than once," said Anti-Matterman. 

"15.09 and counting," said Brainiac. 

The two teams got into their respective starcraft and left Brainiac's ship. They felt his presence long after his skull-like ship was out of their scanrange. 

If Superman ever had to fight that thing again, Kral mused, he was definitely going to need some friends. 

-S- 

The Phantom Stranger did something none of them had ever seen him do before. He collapsed. 

Robotman and Changeling weren't there any faster than Mind-Grabber Kid and Prince Ra-Man. The man in the cloak and suit hit the carpet before any of them could catch him. But they pulled him back up by his arms and pushed him up with hands on his back, and got him seated in a chair near Mento. Steve Dayton was sweaty, pale, and taxed by his ordeal. 

But he was also grinning, like a fighter who had just gone ten rounds and won a championship. 

"Guys," he said, "we won." 

"We did?" said Gar. "Are you sure of that, dad?" 

"Sure as can be," said Mento. "The guy we saved went back in his body. That backwash we felt for a few seconds passed. I don't know what happened, whether it was up to us or somebody else. But we won. I know it." 

Gar Logan turned himself into a small green rabbit, hopped into his stepfather's lap and said, "Eh, what's up, Doc?" Then he transformed into a green youth again, and grabbed Mento around the neck. 

"Stranger, what's happening?" asked Ra-Man. "Are you injured?" 

"Yeah, Phantom, what's the word?" Lucian asked. "You need some ibuprofen, or something?" 

The Stranger looked like he would slide out of the chair with little provocation. "Steve Dayton is correct. We have won. The war, or this phase of it, is over." 

"Whoopee!" said Changeling, turning into a kangaroo, bounding to the ceiling, and turning into his normal form to touch the floor again. 

"Say it again!" said Robotman. "You're sure of that, Mr. Hat?" 

"I am," said the Stranger. "Orion's mind is back within his body. The Life Equation has been spoken. Now, if you will excuse me, I must go." 

"No, wait a minute," said Changeling. "You can't leave just like that." 

"Oh, he can," said Lucian. "Just watch him." 

Without a word, the Stranger pulled himself together, got up from his seat, walked to the door, and left. Somehow, Gar Logan knew he wouldn't see him again if he went into the hall. 

Who he did see poking his head through the door, a few moments later, was Deathstroke the Terminator. "I think it's over, guys," said the masked man. "How did it go in here?" 

"We won," said Mento. 

"That's good." 

Robotman said, "We heard a lot of shooting out there. Want to fill us in?" 

Deathstroke stepped inside, his handgun holstered and his heavier weapon slung on his back. "Two different kinds of perps. The normal ones I'd peg as Inter-Gang, from their weapons. The others...vampires." 

"Vampires?" The hair on the back of Gar's neck threatened to stand up. 

The Terminator nodded. "Maybe from what they call the Cult of the Blood Red Moon. The less you know about that, the better. The guy in the hat suggested as much to us. Adrienne and me, we were armed for 'em. That's all you need to know." 

Mento, after a moment, said, "Have you been paid?" 

"Your man Questor is gonna cut us a check. All it'll need is your signature." 

"You will have it," said Mento. "Then, please let us never see you again." 

"You're welcome," said Deathstroke, and turned to go. 

"Wait a minute," said Gar Logan. 

Deathstroke obliged him. 

Gar went to stand before him. "I'll never forgive or forget what you did to me. Whether you call it business or not. But for what you did today, I'm grateful. So thank you for that, if nothing else." 

"Accepted, kid," said Slade Wilson. "You do something for me?" 

Gar hesitated. "Like what?" 

"Tell Joe I love him. And that he's doing a good job with the Titans. And that I don't ever want him to get like me." 

Changeling nodded. "I'll tell him that. For sure. So long, Wilson." 

"Keep your chin up, kid." The Terminator left. 

After a moment, Robotman spoke up. "What's next, then? Parcheesi?" 

-S- 

The Phantom Stranger reappeared within the mansion of Baron Winters. "It is over," he said, standing with an effort. "We have won." 

Tim Hunter stood up, knocking back his chair, and yelled, "Yes!" 

"Quiet down, Tim," said John Constantine, smiling around his cigarette. "You'll damage the Baron's furniture." 

"Think nothing of it, my boy," said Winters. "But if you're sitting in one of my Chippendales, I'll take it out of your hide." 

A smile wreathed Madame Xanadu's face. "I could tell. The cards shifted so swiftly, in an instant. Can you tell us more, Stranger?" 

"It is enough," he said. "The crisis is abated. With our help, and the help of the heroes, the freedom of the Multiverse has been preserved." 

"Free at last, free at last, and all that rot," said Constantine. "But thanks, Stranger. Any word on Zatanna, or do you know?" 

"I do not," admitted the Stranger. 

Constantine turned to Madame Xanadu. "I think a celebration's in order, luv. Are you maybe in a party spirit, eh?" 

She glared at him. "Only one card fits you now, John Constantine. The Fool." 

Dr. Occult said, "One thing remains, Stranger. We must find the one who killed Jim Corrigan. That debt must be paid in full." 

The Stranger gazed at him with the eyes none of them had ever succeeded in seeing clearly. "While we were in hospital, I took the necessary information from his mind," he said. "I engaged help. The matter is being taken care of." 

Tim Hunter didn't like the sound of it. But he had accumulated enough sense about such things not to ask. Constantine was beside him, anyway. "'Bout time we got you home, youngster. Good thing it isn't a school night." 

"Aw. Heck." Tim began to get up from his chair. 

Constantine was holding his hand out. "Tim. Good job, soldier." 

Tentatively, he took it. Constantine gave him a firm shake, and he returned it. He even smiled. 

Then the two began to walk the Relativity Highway. 

-S- 

Ugly Mannheim was in what amounted to an Inter-Gang safe house, somewhere in Costa Rica. He was counting two million dollars. A million each for a hit on a Jim Corrigan. First he had shot one Corrigan, then they Boom Tubed him away and he shot another Corrigan. Then they boomed him back here. 

It was part of the job, but it was the last time he was doing anything for that bunch. 

Just business, but this time he could afford to retire. Maybe to stay on here. What the hell, it wasn't like he had to pull a trigger anymore. Unless he really felt like it. 

"Hello, Ugly," said a voice. 

Mannheim whirled, sure as hell nobody had been in the room with him a second before. 

The slugs tore into him before he could even get his piece aimed. They slammed him against the wall, and he knew from the feel of it that he'd been hit where it counted. 

All he had time to do was look at the guy who had taken him out. 

He was all dressed up in black, with some kind of ski mask on his head and a red visor on his face. He acted like a professional. Just like Ugly. Only maybe–-no, definitely—so much better. 

"Goodbye, Ugly," said the Vigilante. 

Those were the last words Ugly Mannheim ever heard. 

-S-   


Medphyl returned the Swamp Thing to the Louisiana bayou, but, per his passenger's advice, did not stay to meet the wife. The plant-being Green Lantern thanked the elemental for what he had done, then returned to space. 

It took a few moments to get back in contact with the Green. Then the minature Swamp Thing dissolved his body, shot his consciousness through an intervening network of plants, and reformed himself into a six-foot-plus version from some vegetation in Abby Cable's front yard. 

For her part, Abby had been going over some lesson plans. Dressed in her usual T-shirt and cutoffs, she heard the crackling that signalled Alec was building himself a new body, and rushed outside at the sound. 

"Abby," he said. "I am...home." 

"Alec," she said, going to him. "You made it back. What happened?" 

"The...greening of Apokolips. Would you...like a tuber first?" He indicated the growths on his back. 

"Not right now. Just come inside. And for cripes' sake, wipe your feet." 

She sighed as she preceded him into the house. No matter how impossible her husband was, it was good to have him back. 

-S- 

Lois Lane was certain she could not face another day of work alone. Even with the likes of Perry White, Dave Stevens, and all the rest of the supportive crew, she knew she was going to have to ask Perry for time off. The hard part was, she knew he'd give it to her. Even Morgan Edge wouldn't ask her to do anything for WGBS. He'd get somebody else. 

Sure. Wimp out. Just because your husband is fighting for the fate of the Multiverse somewhere in outer space. Just because Metropolis is still in ruins, and the governor's officially declared it a disaster area. Just because there are no heroes left on Earth. Just because... 

There was a commotion around the glass doors near the front. She looked up from her computer terminal. 

Three people had just come in the door, and everybody around seemed intent on whooping with glee, pumping their mitts, even hugging them and kissing them on the cheek if they were the opposite sex. 

She got a glimpse of red hair on two of the parties concerned and, before she knew it, was out of her chair, running, tripping on the carpet, falling flat on her face, and getting up to run towards the crowd around the doors. Even if it took klurkor to get through the press, she was going to do it. 

Luckily, she didn't have to. Jimmy and Lana both caught sight of her, called "Lois!", and the third one of the arriving party pushed through the journalistic mini-horde to intercept her, hug her, and lift her off her feet. 

"Clark," she squealed, despite herself. "You're back!" 

"I am," he smiled. "And thank God you're still here, Lois." 

"Does that mean–" 

"Yes," he said. "Superman won." 

"Oh, God have mercy. Thank you. Thank you." 

"Don't mention it. I'll tell you about it later." 

"Like hell." She took him by the hand, marched him back to her desk, and sat him down, then put her hands on the keyboard. "You'll tell me right now. We've got a story to file." 

Clark sighed. "All right. Just so long as we get finished before the six o'clock news." 

-S- 

Over the next six weeks, Metropolis rose anew. 

Construction workers, civilian volunteers, politicians, and super-heroes all did their part. The Man of Steel himself donned a hard hat and spent his spare time helping to rebuild the famous skyline. Only this time, a bit better. The likes of Green Lantern, Firestorm, Firehawk, and others made guest appearances to lend a hand. Team Metropolis made regular appearances and became the darlings of the city media. Batman, Robin, and Catwoman turned up to make a speech for the workers' benefit, and even tried their hand mixing cement. Selina swore she'd have to buy a new costume afterwards. 

The Justice League learned through sub-space communication of the decision of Hawkman and Hawkgirl to remain on Thanagar, and honored it. With three members down from the JLA's roster, they took the step of asking Supergirl if she wanted to sign up. She declined. 

She had something else important to do. 

Days after touching base with her friends, returning to her apartment, explaining that she had gone into hiding during the fearsome fracas downtown with the League of Challenger-Haters, and spending several more days on her regular job, Linda Danvers once again became Supergirl, went with Dev-Em and Power Girl to the Fortress of Solitude, and activated the WarPort. A few instants later, they emerged in the receiver on Rokyn, once again in phase with their universe. 

Within an hour, they were taxied to a residence not far from the capital city. Power Girl looked nervous, and Kara took her hand. She could feel the sweat right through her blue glove. As soon as their images checked out on a scanner, the door opened. 

Zor-El and Allura came out and, grabbing Kara, smiled. Power Girl almost fainted. Dev-Em was there to steady her. 

"Mom, Daddy, I want you to meet my friends," Kara said. "Only they're much more than friends. This is Dev, here. Dev-Em. We're in love." 

"Oh," said Allura, not sure of what else to say. 

"Blessings on your house," Dev offered. 

"And this is Power Girl," she continued. "She's from Earth-Two. She looks like me, and on her Earth, well, she pretty well is me. Her name is Kara Zor-L." 

Before Kara could say anything else, Power Girl had thrown herself at Zor and Allura, had wrapped her arms around them, and was hugging them both for all she was worth. 

"Please, don't stop me," she asked, not even trying to hold back her tears. "Just let me hold you. And if you could, would you hold me back?" 

The two of them did. Looking over Power Girl's shoulder, Zor-El gave Kara a non-verbal question. She nodded and mouthed the words: Her parents are dead. 

Allura finally said, "Come inside, uh, Kara–" 

Power Girl sniffled, but managed a smile. "Just call me K. It's what I call your Kara. Rao, you look just like my own..." 

"And you look just like our own, too, dear," said Zor-El. "Come on inside, and tell us all about it." 

Dev looked on, letting the three of them enter first. "I'm glad I'm in a universe where I'm not the last Kryptonian," he said, at last. 

"I'm glad you're not, too," said Kara, taking his hand. 

"And I'm ruddy glad that you're not the last one, either." 

"Amen to that," said Supergirl. "Welcome to the family, Dev." 

They went inside. 

-S- 

Did everyone live happily ever after? 

Only Oracle and Destiny would know of that, and they kept their own counsels. 

Including this one. 

-S- 

Darkseid arose. 

The world was not his own. In fact, it was not anyone's, anymore. Its inhabitants were long gone, either to death or planetary emigration. About it, he had placed a field of alarm. About himself, he had placed a force field and a field of negation. None would notice him, and if they did, none could reach him. 

He felt of his body, in what time he had left to him. 

He knew of the secrets of cloning, even before the DNA Project opened on Earth. He had employed the three fool Earthmen, the Wizard, Icicle, and Fiddler, to build him a body in times past. He also built a spare to house his mind and soul in, if that body had been destroyed, which it had been. 

And he was not damned fool enough to go into the last campaign without making sure he had another body elsewhere, just in case. This one, for instance. It served, just like the old ones. 

His power was still intact. Even Desaad cowered within his mind. That was reassuring. 

Within a few seconds, he would put himself in suspended animation. He would sleep for a thousand years, till all his present enemies were dead. A new Multiverse would be his when he awakened. It would be as if no time had passed, at all. 

Damn the women who defeated him. Damn the men who destroyed him. Damn his own son, Orion, who could have been so much for him, who could have been his successor, if only that pact with the corrupter Izaya hadn't gotten in the way. 

Spilled juice. A general must know how to piece together a victory from a present defeat. 

There would be no more trucking with the Anti-Life Equation. He could only say it once. It was as gone to him now as life was to the dead. But if he had to conquer the worlds a more difficult way, he would do it. He was Darkseid. 

The Phantom Zoners had been a workable idea. But there were too few of them. He had released only a handful, concerned with his ability to control them. What if he could improve his control, enslave them mentally, liberate the entire complement of Kryptonian prisoners to do his will? They might be a force beyond even the army of villains he had assembled. 

But there might be more Kryptonian survivors than they, in the future, if the world of Rokyn survived. 

What if he could control them? A world of supermen as his pawns. An army to surpass even that of Apokolips. A thought worth considering. 

Rokyn, though, was often out of phase with the Earth-One plane. There was, after all, a more easily accessible world. Daxam. Its inhabitants had the same might as Kryptonians, once off-world and out from under the rays of their red sun. If they could be dominated...no, when they could be dominated...they would prove they key to the conquest of a universe. Or even a Multiverse. 

Before that, he would need to increase his power. The Supergirl had dealt him blows powerful enough to impact through even his Omega force-field. He would never suffer that indignity again. No matter what source he had to draw them from, and he knew of more than a few, he would gain might enough to surpass a Kryptonian, and to destroy him. 

Or her. 

There were more plans to be made, once he knew of the universe in which he would awake. Much remained uncertain. But of one thing, he was very certain. 

When he arose, it would be a time of great darkness. 

He lay back on the slab he had carved years ago, before he placed this body on it. 

Darkseid gave himself over to sleep, and, in his last moment of wakefulness, sent a message to the being who shared his mind-space. 

To Desaad, he said two words: 

Pleasant dreams.> 

This one is for 

JACK KIRBY 

The true Source 


End file.
